Birthday Battle
by Whose Liner
Summary: Téa's birthday is coming up, and Yugi's struggling to find a gift for her! But when he finally does, a nasty, bullying classmate steals it! Now the only way to get Téa's present back is for Yugi to engage him in a heated, furious, action-packed duel!
1. Presenting a Present

**Introduction: **Hello again, readers everywhere! After much hard work and dedication, I've dipped into my vast file of ideas and once again taken it upon my self to write some more fanfiction! This here is my first "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters" story, complete with a little comedy, some cool dueling action, peppered with just a fair bit of romance! All in all, I hope that these qualities will combine to result in a story that I hope will be more entertaining than my original "Yu-Gi-Oh!" fanfic…

**Disclaimer: **If you truly believe that I own "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters", you're dreamin'!

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Long ago, when the pyramids were still young, Egyptian kings played a game of great and terrible power. But these "Shadow Games" errupted into a war that threatened to the destroy the entire world, until a brave and powerful Pharoah locked the magic away...imprisoning it within the mystical Millennium Items. Now, five thousand years later, a boy named Yugi unlockes the secret of the Millennium Puzzle. He is infused with ancient magical energies, for destiny has chosen him to defend the world from the return of the Shadow Games, just as the brave Pharoah did...five thousand years ago...

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

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Chapter 1 - Presenting a Present

It was a beautiful spring day in Domino City, with people hurrying about, going every which way, and tending to one variety of business or another. To every person, their own business demanded dominance over others, taking the rank of "top priority" in their minds. And to a young male teen by the name of Yugi Moto, that belief and philosophy was no exception.

In the Domino City Mall, business certainly is the name of the game, for that is the purpose of malls. But for Yugi, who had won the "King of Games" title, this "business game" was certainly giving him a run for his money, which was also another huge factor that was occupying his mind.

The short teenager ran his hand through his red highlighted, black spiky hair and exhaled. Though his yellow bangs partially covered up his vision of the store window, it mattered little. There was nothing in that store which he particularly desired.

"Hmm…" Yugi went. "Nah, she probably wouldn't like that anyway."

The "she" in question just happened to be one of Yugi's closest friends, if not THE closest. Her name was Téa Gardner, a teenage girl about his age with short brown hair and blue eyes. Graceful, caring and sweet, how could an equally kindhearted boy like Yugi NOT admire her?

But getting to the point, it was getting close to her birthday. And the problem? Yugi couldn't figure out what to buy her. It was strange. The two of then knew each other pretty well…so why couldn't he think of something suitable to get her?

"Hey, Yuge!" said a voice. Yugi turned his head and saw his friend, Joey Wheeler waving to him from not too far away. The shorthaired blonde gave a hand gesture for Yugi to come towards him.

"Finished, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Yep, all set! Tristan and I are done shoppin' here! How 'bout you?"

"Uh…I still can't find anything good enough for her…"

"AHHH!" Joey griped, grabbing the back of his head in frustration. "C'mon, man...buyin' a present ain't DAT hard! You just find somethin', buy it, wrap it, and give to her with your blessings! What more is there ta **think** about?!"

"Lay off, Joe!" said a "heavier" voice.

Both boys looked behind them and saw a much taller guy, Tristan Taylor. Their friend sighed and ran his hand along his pyramid-brownish-shaped hairstyle on top of his head.

"Lay off?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, bro…if Yugi wants to take his time finding a nice present for Téa, then let him do it! It's kinda sweet that he wants to make sure that his gift stands out from all the others!" Tristan said, winking at Yugi.

"Whoa, hold on there a second, Tristan!" Yugi almost panicked, putting up his hands in protest. "You got it all wrong! I…I just wanna find something that she'll really like, that's all!"

"Same diff," Joey quipped.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Yugi, Joey, and Tristan had departed and went their separate ways to go home. The sun had just started to go down, setting the stage for a peaceful, quiet evening, but all was not well. Not for Yugi, anyway.

He sighed to himself, and hung his head down. Granted, Téa's birthday was still a week away, but time was running out. And the big "B-Day" would be there before Yugi knew it. This only amplified the fact that he hadn't yet bought an appropriate present for Téa.

His friends had already found some acceptable birthday gifts. Joey bought Téa some Duel Monsters booster packs, as well as some rare cards that she'd been itching to get her hands on, and Tristan bought her a new blouse and skirt that she meant to buy a while back, but didn't have the money for.

Boy, Téa's so nice and caring, Yugi thought. One moment she can be awfully sweet, sensitive, and…cute…and the next she can prove to be just as determined and serious as anyone else. What kind of gift do you buy for a girl like that? I've known her for so long...I should know what to buy her!

"But…I don't," he said to himself.

"Don't what?" interrupted a high pitched, sickly sweet, female voice.

"ACK!!" Yugi went, jumping a foot in the air, out of surprise.

He turned his head and saw a tall blonde beauty, dressed in a purple leather outfit, standing before him. It was a fellow duelist that he befriended at Maximillion Pegasus's Duelist Kingdom competition.

"Mai?"

"Mai Valentine, at your service," she said cheerfully, cutely winking.

"Oh, hi!"

"Hi yourself, 'Yuge-ster!' How are things, hon?"

"Uh…things are okay, I guess."

"Just okay?"

"Ah…well…you see, Téa's birthday is coming up, and-"

"Oh, yeah! I got an invitation, too! Though I gotta admit…I was a little surprised that Téa even thought to invite me…"

"You shouldn't be," Yugi stated with a smile. "Even after all ups and downs that you've been through with me, Joey, and the others, you should know by now that you're our friend. A **good** friend."

Mai was a bit impressed at Yugi's kind words, which were nicely spoken.

"Why, Yugi…" she started to say, pretending to be embarrassed, "…you certainly know how to complement a girl! I do believe I'm blushing. Y'know…maybe YOU'RE the perfect guy for me."

"Wha?!" Yugi stammered, utterly flushed.

Mai lightly chuckled to herself. "Chill, hon. I'm only joking."

The two friends exchanged laughs and Mai started to walk alongside Yugi.

"So, Mai…ARE you coming to the party?" he asked.

"Well, I suppose I **could**…I had nothing planned that day anyway…"

"Didja get Téa a present yet?"

"Why…yes, actually. Check this out."

The pair stopped walking and Mai held up a fancy black paper bag from the mall. Mai had obviously just been shopping there, as well. Yugi kept looking as she held up a small black box and a clear crystal-like bottle, full of a dark reddish liquid. On top was a tiny hose.

"Wow! Is that-"

"Yep! Some perfume and a makeup kit!"

"I thought I could help Téa bring out more of that 'inner beauty' of hers. So I'm hoping that these might help."

_Gee_, Yugi thought. _That's actually a pretty good present. I would never have thought to buy __Téa__ something like that...but then again, __Téa__'s already beautiful enough without any makeup…_

"Um, yeah…they just might," Yugi said, in response to Mai. "But I know Téa will appreciate it, no matter what."

"Thanks, Yugi! Well, I must be going now, SO much to do! See ya!"

Mai winked again and blew him a kiss before running off. Yugi waved to her as she left. But then he sighed once more, as he still couldn't think of a great gift to buy for Téa.

"Hello! Yugi! Hey!" yelled a "light" voice.

Yugi turned his head to see a young man about his age with long white hair (with a pale purple tint) running from behind. It was one of his classmates and good friends, Bakura.

"Bakura! Hey there!" Yugi exclaimed.

"I saw you up ahead and I thought I'd chat with you for a second."

"Sure, no problem. Let's sit down."

Yugi led Bakura to a nearby bench, with a vending machine next to it. So the two of then decided to rest for a moment and have a (soft) drink.

Nothing was said for a few more moments until Yugi noticed a small thin bag in Bakura's hand.

"Hey…what's that, Bakura?"

"Hm? This? Oh…it's Téa's birthday present…"

Another one? Boy, it seemed that everybody BUT Yugi had found an appropriate gift for Téa!

"Can I see it?"

"Sure, Yugi. Here…"

Yugi took the bag in his hands, and carefully pulled out the object inside.

"A book?"

"Mm-hm," Bakura replied, nodding.

Yugi took a look at the cover.

"Hmm…'The Ring of a Thousand Lights'?" he read.

"Yes…" Bakura said, smiling. "It's one of my favorite books, and also a best-seller. But they're only sold in my hometown. It's a book full of short and long poems, as well as short stories. It's a most unique piece of literature, and I thought that Téa would like it."

"I'm sure she will! Téa enjoys reading!"

"Well, then…I guess I'm safe!" Bakura gently joked. He began to chuckle.

Yugi laughed a little too, and took another sip from his soda can.

"What about you, Yugi?"

"Huh?"

"I mean…what have YOU bought for Téa?"

"Uh…well, actually…"

Yugi didn't feel like lying to a kind soul such as Bakura's, but his friend was also once another carrier of one of the seven legendary Egyptian Millennium Items. (Actually, Bakura still was, but Yugi wasn't aware of this fact…yet.) Although Bakura's Millennium Ring had started trouble for Yugi and the rest of his friends once or twice, a solution always came about.

_Maybe a former Millennium Item owner could help me out_, Yugi thought. _Bakura does seem to have good ideas and advice at times…_

"Bakura?"

"Yes?"

"To tell you the truth, I've **haven't** been able to find a good enough present for Téa."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah…" Yugi said with a frown on his face. "I just can't think of anything suitable."

"My…it's all rather ironic, if you think about it," Bakura noted. "You know her better than the rest of us, right?"

"I guess…I mean…yeah, of course!"

"Trust me, Yugi…Téa's a sweet girl. I'm sure she'll like whatever you give her. Remember, it's the thought that counts…it's the giver, not the actual gift."

Yugi began to smile again and nodded.

"You're right, Bakura! Téa **is** a reasonable girl! She'll love whatever I give her!"

"There you go, Yugi!"

"And besides, I-oh, wait! What time is it?!"

"Hmm…" went Bakura, looking at his watch. "A little after six, I guess."

"Shoot! I promised Grandpa I'd be home in time for dinner!"

"Great Scott! You'd best hurry home, then!"

"Right! See ya, Bakura!" exclaimed Yugi, hopping off the bench. "And thanks for listening!"

Bakura stood up, closed his eyes and kept smiling. "Anytime, Yugi!"

As short as he was, Yugi was already running far into the distance. But he turned around one more time to wave to Bakura.

"I'll catch you tomorrow at school!" he yelled.

"Later!" he said, cheerfully waving back.

As soon Yugi was out of sight, Bakura took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky. The colors up above were starting to darken rapidly. To the young teen, the colors looked so amazing, so unique…

…so **MEANINGLESS!!**

A dark shadow appeared over Bakura's face while his eyes narrowed, and his mouth curled into an extremely nasty grin while a faint gold glow appeared under his shirt. The centuries old Millennium Ring which he secretly – and somewhat unknowingly – wore began to glow brighter until it appeared OVER his shirt, yet still attached around his neck.

Almost as if it was part of some chain reaction, two thick strands of hair from both sides of his head stuck up on their own…almost resembling devil's horns.

The dark, evil and powerful energies contained inside the Ring activated without warning, and the even more malicious sprit within the Egyptian artifact manifested itself inside Bakura's body, using him as a host. Literally no longer the person he was a few seconds ago, the evil spirit spoke to himself, in a low, gravelly voice which bore nothing but anger, hatred and the persistent intent of conquest.

(The spirit inhabiting) Bakura chuckled to himself. Yugi was so naive, so innocent...and so unsuspecting of what was to come, especially regarding the fate of his Puzzle, as far as the evil spirit was concerned. He stood by his earlier opinion on modern-day humans…they **were** fun to toy with.

"Enjoy your freedom, little Yugi…while it **lasts!** For that will only be one of many things you shall lose when I have everything I want! Including the priceless artifact worn around your scrawny neck! I will strike when you least expect it, and then your Millennium Puzzle will soon be **MINE!** Once I gather all seven of the Millennium Items, they will grant me the ultimate power which will be mine to command…and the world will tremble at my feet!! **HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!**"

Once more, the being that controlled Bakura's body titled his head up towards the darkening sky…and cackled into the night.

* * *

A soon as Yugi got home, he rested for a few minutes in his room before his grandpa would call him down for dinner. Immediately the weight of the "pendant" hanging from around his neck started to manifest itself. Yugi looked at the upside-down pyramid-shaped object he was wearing. He removed the golden Millennium Puzzle from his neck, and carefully put it down on his bed. But he couldn't tear his eyes from the front of it.

The strange symbol, which resembled some sort of eye, had always caught Yugi's attention. It was usually the first thing to notice if he ever encountered another Millennium Item. And then there was the somewhat enigmatic spirit living inside it, sort of like a genie inside a bottle.

Not many knew about "him", and even his grandfather was only somewhat aware of it. All the same, the spirit was blessed with a heart of gold and a special seed of goodness coursing through his personality, much like Yugi himself. Maybe that was one of the reasons that the two of them worked together so well.

Whenever the stakes were high, the Puzzle's ancient powers would activate, and Yugi's body, mind, and spirit would merge with that of the being living inside the Egyptian artifact. Acting as one, they would overcome any and every menace that would oppose them.

But even though Yugi greatly appreciated everything the spirit had done for him, "he" would only appear if any malicious acts occurred, usually directed at him. And Yugi hoped a lot that there wouldn't be too much use for the spirit to appear to defeat some, crook, punk, or other evil spirit.

However, this wasn't the spirit's only function. Once in a while he would appear outside the Puzzle, and separate from Yugi, in a transparent form. He'd be there to give Yugi personal advice, counseling, and guidance, almost like an imaginary friend. But Yugi knew full well that the magic of his Millennium Item was **anything** but imaginary.

And this was one of those times that he chose to appear.

"Yugi…" he said in a friendly greeting voice.

"Oh, hey..." was all Yugi could say. Even now, the spirit still had the capacity to startle him at times.

The two of them chatted for a moment, but the spirit could always read Yugi's face like a book, usually able to coax him to reveal whatever was troubling him. Leaning against a wall, the sprit listened carefully as his young friend explained the trouble that he was having lately, and responded, apparently agreeing with Bakura's opinion.

"Téa is an intelligent girl, and she'd count not how much money or glamour you put into the gift you bought her, but care about how much heart you put into the gift…how much you thought of her when you saw it."

"I guess," Yugi answered, half-heartedly.

"Do you remember what your grandfather said to you about the 'Heart of the Cards', Yugi?"

"Of course."

"Well, a lesson like that isn't just restricted to a card game…it's a lesson for your entire life. The 'Heart' applies itself to anything you do. So put your heart into whatever you choose to give her. And if you want my personal opinion…give her something that would really stand out, something unique, something that nobody else would ever think of. Something…that only you could give her."

"I…I'll try," Yugi said.

The spirit nodded and smiled warmly.

"Don't try to make your gift better than everyone else's…just make it the best present YOU can possibly give."

* * *

Solomon Moto, Yugi's grandfather, saw that his grandson was barely eating his dinner. While he didn't look depressed or sad, Yugi definitely seemed like he had a lot on his mind. This was normal for Yugi, but nevertheless, Solomon decided to ask.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" Solomon asked.

"What?" Yugi answered, hardly taking notice of anything.

"You seemed worried about something."

"Oh, it's nothing too serious…I'm just having some trouble finding a good birthday present for Téa. Y'know, her birthday is coming up."

"Well, Yugi…my shop has plenty of fun games and toys to choose from. And you know that anything I have is at your disposal."

"Really? Thanks, Grandpa! I just might take you up on that!"

Solomon Moto just chuckled, and nodded. Feeling a little more cheerful, Yugi did his best to maintain his composure, and took a big bite out of his dinner.

* * *

That's enough for now! I really hope that this fanfic will generate more reviews as it continues! Well, I'll be honest, I'm really not sure where to go from here, but worry not! I will figure out a way! And in case you haven't figured it out…yep, there will be some romance between Yugi and Téa, but not nearly as much as I squeezed into my previous Digimon fanfic! (I'm sorry, if that displeases anyone/everyone.)

Oh, btw…Dark Bakura is NOT the villain in this story! I only had him act that way in order to have him behave more naturally, which I try hard to do with everyone in my stories! Tell me if I successfully managed to keep everyone in character!

Here's an important note…every time you fail to send in a review, an angel clips its wings, so do them a favor, okay?

Sadly, that's all the time we have for now, so the sooner you send me your feedback, the sooner I can write the next chapter of this story! And that sounds too easy to be true, than it probably is! In addition, if anything I said makes sense, then you might need to have your head examined! Cuckoo! And adios!


	2. Forcibly Yours

_Ancient paragraphs foretold the content of a story's true nature. As more were written, each one contained a specific statement, for fate of the writer was at stake, had the information within the tale be claimed by one who was NOT the original creator. These statements were called_...the "**DISCLAIMER".**

Umm…and I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" either…SO! How 'bout those Nets?

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle **

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Chapter 2 – Forcibly Yours

Another new morning began as the sun broke over the horizon, using its wondrous rays consisting of brilliant light and overwhelming warmth to subtly signal people to begin their daily routines.

Such routines included Solomon Moto humming to himself as he used a broom to sweep the outside of the Game Shop where he lived and worked.

"Good morning, Mr. Moto!" yelled a feminine voice.

Solomon turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw his grandson's classmate and good friend, Téa Gardner. The short (brown) haired, blue-eyed girl smiled upon arriving at the house/store and politely bowed before Yugi's grandpa.

"Oh, 'morning, Téa!" Solomon replied. "How's everything?"

"Peachy keen, I'd say! My birthday is coming up soon, and I guess it's got me really hyped!"

"Well, then…'Happy Birthday' to you!"

"Thanks!" Téa exclaimed. "So, uh…where's Yugi? I'm not late for our walk to school, am I?"

"Oh, no…you're right on time! It's just that Yugi left rather early today!"

"Really? Any reason why?"

"I'm not sure. He didn't say much when he raced out the door, except that he had to check out something."

"Hmm, I wonder what it could be," Téa said, thinking out loud. "Oh, well! I'd better get to school! See ya later!"

"You have a good day now!" Solomon cheerfully said.

Still containing a spring in her step, Téa waved goodbye to Yugi's grandfather, who waved back.

* * *

Téa was in no immediate danger of being late for school, but nevertheless, she didn't feel like taking any chances. Still full of exuberance (because of her upcoming birthday) she half-ran the rest of the way to school. She quickly stopped at the road, as the overhanging streetlight turned red in her direction. But in the distance she swore that she could see Yugi!

"Yugi! Hey, wait up!" she happily yelled, but to no avail.

Téa's short friend was too far away to hear him. And the streetlight above had a "delayed green", meaning she wouldn't be able to catch up with Yugi in time, especially since he was running.

After crossing the street, Téa took a look at the nearby stores. She thought she'd seen Yugi exit one of them when she spotted him, but he was too far away at the time for her to see which one. With a simple shrug, Téa continued to make her way to school, certain that Yugi would (probably) tell her everything when the time was right.

* * *

At Domino High, the school morning began as usual, with students chatting away the minutes in homeroom. Three of the students, however, were up to something a little more fun.

"Ha! You don't got a chance, Bakura!" Joey declared.

"Maybe, but I've been known to keep a few tricks up my sleeve," Bakura noted.

Tristan chuckled to himself as he watched Joey and Bakura engage in a match of Duel Monsters. But as cocky and as foolhardy as Joey could be, he was definitely underestimated regarding his dueling skills. He had a strong lead, with 1400 Life Points remaining, while Bakura's score was lower, at 500.

Joey narrowed his eyes and peered over his cards just enough to see Bakura's facial expression. His outward look was that of a calm, friendly, and peaceful one, but unfortunately, that wasn't telling Joey very much.

"Whateva!" Joey blurted out. "This next big attack's gonna smash right through what's left of ya Life Points!"

With that said, Joey placed a card (with an orange frame) face up on the game mat that they were using.

"I'll play Mad Sword Beast…in attack mode!"

"Not bad," Bakura calmly said.

"You bet it's not bad!" Joey agreed. "That card you have face down may be in defense mode, but the Mad Sword Beast's effect can scrape off a few more of ya Life points, all the same!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, REALLY!" Joey cheered, putting on his semi-grotesque "tough guy" face.

"Well, I'm afraid you'll be most disappointed," Bakura said.

"Says you!"

"I do indeed."

The longhaired boy flipped his card face up. Tristan and Joey took a good look at its stats.

"Looks like that stinkin' monster of yours has only 1000 defense points! And since MY guy has an attack power of 1400, you lose 400 Life Points!" Joey pointed out.

"Looks like you only have 100 Life Points left to spare, Bakura!" Tristan noted, still watching the match, along with a few other classmates.

"That may be so, but what Joey destroyed was my Dimensional Warrior! After being attacked, it removes itself from play, as well as the monster that attacked it!" Bakura explained.

"Ah, nuts!" Joey griped.

The blonde teen looked down on the game mat. His eyes were specifically focused on the other monster he had out on the field.

"It's a good thing I didn't attack ya wit' my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

"True enough. And I don't believe I'm holding any monsters that can destroy it. So if that's the case, would you mind terribly if **I** tried attacking with it?"

"Whaddya mean?" Joey asked, crossing his arms and eyeing his opponent suspiciously.

Bakura lightly chuckled again as he drew his next card off the top of his dueling deck.

"Ah! This card is perfect!" he said with a casual smile, before laying down the card.

"Huh? What's dat!"

"You'll see. But first, I summon Wall of Illusion in attack mode!"

"Wha? That wimpy card's only got 1000 attack points! You can't possibly expect ta beat me like that!"

"Well…not by itself, perhaps. But by adding this magic card I just drew-"

"What th…Creature Swap?" Tristan asked, reading the card's name. "What's that about?"

"By laying this card down on the field, I can swap any one of my monsters with any one of Joey's!"

"No way!" Joey said.

"But since we have only one monster each…" Bakura continued, "…we'll have to trade whatever monsters we have on the field right now!"

The two duelists followed the magic card's instructions, and Joey groaned at this unexpected turn of events.

"Now! Since I'm now in control of your Red-Eyes, I'll use it to attack YOUR Wall of Illusion! And if my calculations are correct, I do believe that takes your Life Points all the way down to zero!"

"What!" Joey almost yelled. "Well, I guess it's cool…you're just lucky I was just goin' easy on ya, Bakura! 'Cause if I wasn't holdin' back, I woulda CREAMED ya!"

"So you want to go another round?"

"Please," Joey said in a blank voice, trying not to have to resort to begging.

Bakura and Tristan laughed, while Joey shuffled his deck.

"Hey after this match is over lemme have a crack at the LOSER!" Tristan declared, giving Joey a funny stare and smirking expression.

"Say WHAT!" Joey bellowed, glaring daggers at his friend.

"Say NOTHIN'! I'm just pointing out the obvious!" Tristan said, starting to raise his voice.

The two boys glared at each other. Bakura just stared at them, half-smiled and broke into a nervous sweat.

"Are you implying that I STINK at Duel Monsters?"

"Well, if it looks like a dog, and BARKS like a dog…!"

"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME A **DOG**, TRISTAN!"

Being the proverbial last straw on the camel's back, the two friends began fighting, physically. As much as Bakura hated to admit, it was kind of amusing to see the two of them go at it like that. Tristan and Joey's routine behavior just wouldn't be complete without it. But that didn't mean that Bakura wouldn't attempt to calm them down.

"All, right…that's quite enough, you two. Just stay calm now…"

But it was evident that the two boys weren't going to listen, much less comply with Bakura's wishes. He continued to sweat as he watched them put each other in amateur-like (but painful looking) wrestling moves.

"Hey, Bakura! Morning, Tristan, Joey!" yelled a voice that the three of them recognized.

The trio looked up and saw Yugi just as he was entering the classroom and heading towards them.

"Hey, Yugi!" Tristan and Joey said, frozen in their uncomfortable positions.

Yugi cracked a nervous smile upon the apparent fight that his two friends had engaged in.

"You shoulda seen me a lil' while ago! I was makin' short work of Bakura in Duel Monsters!" Joey excitedly exclaimed, despite the headlock he was in.

"Well…so to speak, anyway," Bakura noted.

"Hey, where's Téa?" Tristan asked as he let go of Joey, who did the same. "I mean, don't you two always walk to school together?"

"Uhh…yeah, we do," Yugi confirmed, nervously putting his hands behind his back and looking upwards towards nothing in particular.

"Soooo…what happened, Yuge?" Joey asked.

"Well, uh…this morning I hadda leave earlier than usual to go, err…check something out, you might say."

Tristan, Bakura, and Joey gave each other clueless and blank stares, and just shrugged. For the next ten minutes the four boys sat down and casually talked amongst one another about this and that. Téa finally arrived afterwards, with another ten minutes to spare before class started.

"Hey, guys!" she said rather cheerfully.

"Yo, Téa!" Joey shot back.

"Well, someone's certainly in a good mood today!" Tristan noted, smiling.

"Gee, is it THAT obvious!" the girl asked, with a tiny bit of sarcasm in her already perky enough tone.

Tea's exuberance was just too infectious to be properly put into words. And soon…Joey, Bakura and Yugi found themselves smiling, as well.

"An early congratulations towards your upcoming birthday!" Bakura kindly said.

"Thanks, but why don't you put your other sweet notions on hold until the big 'B-Day' actually gets here?"

The friends laughed, and they went back to their business. Joey and Bakura went back to their duels, with Tristan watching. Téa just pulled up a seat at Yugi's desk. She wanted to ask about what he had been up to this morning, but she again figured it could wait.

Instead, she took a look at a small pile of Duel Monsters cards that Yugi had spread out on his desk, some of which she hadn't seen previously.

"I see you've acquired some new cards recently!" Téa noted.

"Yep, I got 'em a little while back. My deck will be even stronger than before when I combine them with my other cards!" Yugi happily replied.

"Face the facts, Yugi…Duel Monsters is your life! Not that there's anything really wrong with it, though!"

Yugi said nothing but laughed a little.

"Hey, Yugi…I remember a while back at Duelist Kingdom…Bakura asked which card was our favorite…"

"Yeah. And…?"

"Well, to put it in other terms, which card of yours ACTS the most like you? In your opinion, I mean."

"You wanna know which card is most like me?" Yugi asked, making sure he heard right, being that it was quite an interesting question.

Téa's thoughts quickly screeched to a halt, remembering his favorite card was probably also the answer here, as well. She used her eyes to scan the pile of cards on the desk, searching for it…

"Wait, I know. Well, I think I know. It's that purple guy with the big hat, right?" Téa asked.

"Uh, big hat? Oh, you mean my Dark Magician card," Yugi said, holding it up for her to see. "Well, even though it's pretty great, I don't think it's the card that's most like me. Okay…"

Upon that last word, Yugi put down the card he was holding, and rummaged through the pile for a moment. About two seconds later, he found the card he was searching for and held it up.

"Ah! This is the one! Pretty cool, right?"

The card had an orange frame, and had a picture of a person wearing a similar costume slightly resembling the Dark Magician's spellcaster garb, but this one was just one color, dark blue, with some jewel-like trinkets attached to it.

"Maha Vailo?" Téa asked, taking a good, long look at the card.

She had to mentally admit to being somewhat skeptical at first, seeing as how this monster had noticeably lower stats than the Dark Magician.

"Mm-hm," Yugi went, nodding. "He may not be as strong as the Dark Magician…well, not when you first look at him, anyway. But if you look closer, you'll see a hidden power deep inside…"

"Hmmm…" Téa said, still staring. "Sorry, but I just don't think I'm seeing whatever you're seeing. Maybe as a birthday present you could give me some lessons about playing Duel Monsters!"

Yugi and Téa laughed at her comment, until an unknown low, gravelly voice interrupted the laughter, and barged into the vicinity.

"Did I hear someone say 'birthday' just now?"

The five friends looked up and saw a tall, muscular student standing in the doorway. It was a student named Brutus Malone, one of, of not THE strongest and most athletic people attending this school. His best qualities were shown only during the physical education period, and he certainly had no real manners to make up for anything else he was lacking.

"Yeah, ya did! What's it to you!" Joey asked back, already annoyed by the big bruiser standing before them.

"What that foul mouth of yours, punk! I could snap you in two! Didn't anyone ever tell you to respect other people when graced with their presence?"

"Looks who's talking…" Tristan muttered under his breath.

"What was that, tough guy?" Brutus viciously asked.

Brutus glared threateningly at Tristan, who said nothing. He immediately switched his attention to the soon-to-be birthday girl.

"Anyway, it sounded like it was YOUR birthday, Miss Gardner?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Téa asked coolly.

"Well, I've kindly come to make a proposal that you'd be a fool to refuse!"

"Oh? And what might that be?"

Brutus smirked and held Téa's chin in his cold hand. This caused her to wince, though more out of disgust than anything else.

"A nice, romantic date with Yours Forcibly!"

"No thanks!" Téa quickly refused in a loud voice, putting up her hands in defense.

"Why not? I'll take you out to dinner and a movie! We can even go back to my place afterwards for a little PRIVATE party of our own!"

"I DON'T think so!" Téa argued, slightly creeped out.

Brutus kept on talking, but when he took Téa's hand in his own, Yugi growled at this from afar, although he was much more patient than Tristan and Joey. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't defend Téa, either.

"HEY!" Yugi yelled, albeit a bit nervously. "Knock it off, Brutus! Didn't you hear her? She said NO!"

"Y…Yugi…" Téa said quietly to herself, a bit stunned at his behavior.

No one was more surprised than Téa was at Yugi's anger. It was only during heated matches of Duel Monsters that Yugi would become "different" and put on a tougher personality. But this time…it was the "ordinary" or "normal" Yugi who was risking his neck this time around.

"And just WHO do you think YOU are!" Brutus said, letting go of Téa and getting in Yugi's face.

_Okay, let's think about this, _Yugi thought to himself. _I just practically handed myself over to a guy more than twice my size on a silver platter. A prearranged **PLAN** to follow up on would have been nice…oh, well. At least I managed to pry him off Téa…_

"Just someone who thinks that you should leave her alone!"

"And if I don't? WHO'S gonna stop me? YOU!"

The four other teenagers whipped their heads towards Yugi, who didn't budge a centimeter from his position.

"Yeah!" Yugi firmly stated.

Brutus just rudely laughed, and without warning, picked up Yugi by his shirt and held him up as high as he could.

"Listen, pipsqueak!" the bully threatened. "I participate in almost every athletic activity around this school! I'm so strong I could break you into pieces, and then crush your pieces to pieces! Got that, shorty?"

"Uhh!" was all that Yugi could get out, struggling to break free of the bully's hold.

The spiky haired Yugi tried to use both of his hands to pry off the arm that was holding him up, but to no avail. Brutus wasn't joking either. He was captain of a good number of the school's sports teams, and usually led them to victory. For Brutus, the act of losing – under any circumstance – was NOT an option.

"What're you, DEAF?" Brutus yelled, throwing Yugi against a wall.

Yugi's back slammed into it first, causing him to groan in pain. Thankfully, he hadn't lost consciousness.

"By the way, Moto…" Brutus said, closing in on Yugi again, "…I have another friend of mine who's anxious to meet you! My FIST!"

Téa, Joey, Bakura and Tristan were preparing to tackle the big bully and get him away from Yugi, but in a second, this plan would prove to be unnecessary.

"Excuse me, Mister Malone…would you mind telling me just WHAT is going on in here!"

Everyone in the classroom turned their heads in the direction of the voice and saw the homeroom teacher now standing in the doorway.

Brutus stared at the teacher and just glared.

"Nothin's going on, teach…" he started to say.

"Save it," the teacher interrupted. "If you honestly think that all of the teacher's here are completely oblivious to the malicious actions you pull on and off the field, you're wrong!"

No one else in the classroom needed to say anything, as the teacher saw more than enough to piece together what was going on here. The teacher raised his arm and pointed in a direction down the school hallway.

"Okay, Malone…march! To the principal's office with you! I'll make sure that you get a week's worth of detention, and while we're at it, let's see if we can't you suspended from some of those sports teams that you've been treating unfairly!"

Brutus growled before responding.

"You…NO! You can't just-"

"Shall we extend the punishment into TWO weeks?"

"Uh, no…not at all. No need, sir," Brutus said in a low, bitter voice.

The bully left the classroom while the teacher followed close behind.

"I'll be right back in a moment," the teacher said, sticking his head back into the classroom briefly.

Yugi's friends ran over to him and helped him up.

"Yugi! You okay, buddy!" Joey asked, with a truckload's worth of concern in his eyes.

Yugi groaned, gently rubbed his back, and dusted off his jacket sleeves. "I'm okay, Joey…thanks."

"That was most certainly uncalled for," Bakura noted, displaying a small hint of anger on his face. "With bullies like that, who needs villains?"

"Well, we shouldn't worry too much," Tristan added. "With any luck, that big bruiser should get what he deserves."

"Let's hope so, Tristan," Téa said quietly.

Yugi and the others walked back to their desks, since class would be starting as soon as the homeroom teacher returned. Téa was glad that Yugi escaped from that ugly incident virtually unscathed, but she had a bad feeling that the worst of this wasn't over yet.

* * *

As Brutus was forced to the principal's office, he had nothing but hatred, anger, and especially revenge on his mind. But it wasn't directed at that cutie Téa, passive Bakura, hotheaded Joey, or determined Tristan.

It was focused on that shrimp of a person, Yugi Moto. Although his head was pointed in the opposite direction of the classroom where Yugi was, he still glared at him through his mind.

"This is far from over, Yugi…" Brutus quietly said to himself with a voice that sounded almost as silent as death. "…you'll pay for this."

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED…

We-hell, so the second chapter ends! Sorry it took so long to post/update, but I've been REAL busy with…LIFE in general! I'll try to work faster next time around. Oh, btw…that little scene between Joey and Bakura was partially typed/written out of sympathy for the latter duelist. Aside from that fight with Bonz in the "Battle City" story arc, I don't think I've ever seen Bakura win a single duel.

Anyway, you know the routine…send in the reviews, I write more chapters, the chapters save the world, yada, yada, yada. Well, I see my can of Pepsi is empty, so I must tend to this diminutive crisis IMMEDIATELY! Heh, heh…sorry about that, friends. I get cranky and start experiencing withdrawal symptoms (sorta) if I don't get my Pepsi! Later!


	3. A Gifted Idea

**Disclaimer: **I've got nothing witty to say this time around, so...I, uh, don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all that junk.

(Heh, heh, heh...they don't suspect a THING...foolish humans...)

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

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**Chapter 3 - A Gifted Idea**

The last school bell rung rather loudly, and four pairs of ears took this as a sign to exit the school grounds of Domino High rather eargerly. Joey, Yugi, Tristan and Téa got their bookbags together, and left for home. Although the atmosphere between the four friends was usually cheery and upbeat, they still found themselves mentally preoccupied from what transpired a few hours ago.

"Y'sure you're okay, buddy?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah...I'm cool, Tristan," Yugi assured his friends. "Just a little sore around the edges, is all."

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest, Yugi," Téa suggested. "I mean, that Brutus guy DID chuck you into a wall."

"Don't remind me."

"Don' remind ANY of us, Téa!" Joey worriedly babbled.

"Well...how do...I mean, are you SURE that you're feeling fine?" Téa asked, making sure.

"Mm-hm," Yugi said with a smile and a nod.

Yugi then immediately broke off from the others to head for home at his grandfather's Game Shop.

But as soon as he was out of his friends' sight, he quickly changed his mind about his choice of destination. Yugi made a few more twists and turns and doubled back into town. Although his three friends asked him repeatedly (throughout the duration of the school hours) if he was fine after being bullied, Téa's advice to get some rest gave him just the chance he needed to break away from them and check out more of the various stores in town.

--------------------------------------------

"So, Brutus...where you been, man?"

About 30 minutes after school ended, Brutus Malone left school, having to stay an additional half hour for detention for what he'd done beforehand. He reached usual hangout, meeting with some of his friends (who usually CUT school) inside a store.

"Detention," he said in a solid, cold voice.

"That's kinda unusual for you, ain't it?" one of his buddies asked.

"It was a fluke...some miserable little pipsqueak was the one who REALLY got me into trouble."

Brutus's friends attempted to console him in their own weird way, but he barely heard them. He just stared into the streets of Domino through a store window, thinking ocver and over that he couldn't let this pass. He had to get even with that irritating Yugi. Strike that, he had to get REVENGE! In spades!

"So whatcha got planned tomorrow, dude?" one of his friends asked.

Brutus ran his hand through his short black hair, and shrugged. But his mental blank slowed down gradually, as his eyes caught a glimpse of the root of his problems. It was Yugi! The twerp was across the street entering and exiting a few stores, apparently window shopping or whatever. Numerous cars were passing along, so it was difficult to see what was going on across the street, but Brutus was pretty sure that the kid he saw was indeed Yugi Moto, who was too far away for him to do anything, save for one thing.

Follow him.

For the next few minutes, Brutus did just that, and was successful in keeping himself hidden from a good distance. He kept close enough to keep up with Yugi in order to see where he would go next, and yet stayed far away enough to ensure that he wouldn't be spotted. Eventually Yugi headed for home. Brutus noticed that he'd arrived at the popular Game Shop where Yugi's friends usually hung out.

"So, that Yugi Moto kid lives here at this little dump of a store?" he whispered to himself. "Interesting..."

Brutus stopped talking when he heard voices coming from inside the shop. He quietly stepped towards a nearby window, remembered to stay out of sight and listened closely.

"Uh, huh...yeah, Grandpa. Tea's party is supposed to be a week from tomorrow. We're all gonna meet at her place than head over to that new arcade hangout that's opening up on the same day as her birthday. I'll be heading out around two."

Brutus decided that he'd heard enough to go on, and promptly left the scene. The tall, dashing, thin, but athletic teen thought to himself as the wheels inside his head were mapping out a plan. Not an elaborate one, but a plan nonetheless. Overall, it didn't really matter to him as to how he was going to go about things. Just as long as he could get Yugi right where he wanted and teach him a lesson he'd never forget...

--------------------------------------------

There was no school the following day. Téa, Joey, and Tristan decided to make an unscheduled appearance at Yugi's home. Despite the fact that he wasn't expecting them at all he still warmly welcomed them in, as he always did.

"Yo, pal!" Joey greeted.

"Hey, Joey," Yugi calmly replied. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you all, but what're you doing here?"

"Ah, we all found out that we weren't doing anything today," Tristan said. "So we decided to check out and see what you were up to."

"Well, you're timing is impeccable!" said a voice.

Everyone turned their heads and saw that Solomon, Yugi's grandfather, had walked into the room.

"I'm expecting a new shipment of cards and other games to be delivered here today," Solomon explained. "And since only Yugi and I are here to recieve them, we could really use the help bringing them into the Game Shop."

"Yeah, and you all know how bad Grandpa's back can get sometimes," Yugi added. "So we'd very much welcome the help."

Yugi's three friends looked at each other and nodded without a second thought.

--------------------------------------------

"Okay, Gramps! Dat's da last a' them!" Joey hollered, carrying two small boxes into the Game Shop.

"That didn't seem like too much for us to carry," Téa noted, putting down the one box she was holding.

"Well, this IS a small gaming store," Yugi pointed out. "So there's never that much to order or to be delivered."

"Maybe...but like you pointed out, there's only two of you," Tristan said.

"Thank you for your help, all the same," Solomon replied. "Yugi, we're done for now. We'll unpack these boxes later."

"So what's next on the agenda?" Téa said, not exactly asking anyone in particular.

"How 'bout lunch?" Joey asked, half-excitedly .

"Oookay, who didn't see THAT one coming?" Tristan complained, slightly annoyed, and crossing his arms.

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing," Téa replied. "Let's go OUT to lunch, even. My treat."

"Why the generous offer, all of a sudden?" Yugi inquired.

"Well, remember a little while back when we all got some e-mail from Duke?"

"Duke Devlin? Dat dice creep?" Joey said with some irritation in his voice, reflecting on his own bad experience with that guy.

"Well, I replied back to him and mentioned that my birthday was coming up soon. So, he mailed me some money as a birthday present."

_Hmm, wish I'd come up with that idea, _Yugi thought. _But it's okay. I'd rather give Téa a material gift, anyway._

"Sounds good to me!" Tristan exclaimed, bringing Yugi back to reality.

"Hey, any food that I don't gotta pay for is GOOD food!" Joey cheered.

With that, Téa and the boys headed out into town to grab some grub. The chatting bettwen munches and chews was nothing too important or serious. Ironically, the topic of Téa's birthday didn't come up or pop into anyone's head, except for Yugi's. Thankfully, he managed to hide his concern from his friends. Though the subject wasn't really anything to worry about, he didn't want anyone to know what was going on in his mind.

Yugi put that thought aside for the moment and enjoyed the spare time that he was spending with his friends. For the next few hours, the four close friends just wandered aimlessly around Domino, looking here and there, and not doing much else. They hardly cared, as they all just simply loved doing stuff as a group, even if it was just walking around. Finally, they split off from each other as it was just beginning to get dark.

Although it didn't take much time to get home from where he was hanging out with Joey, Téa, and Tristan, the sky had already gotten noticeably darker. Upon arrival, he ate dinner, and then helped his grandfather unload and put away all of the gaming goods that had been delivered earlier that day. Afterwards, he retired to his room. Not to sleep, but to think. More thoughts arose as to what could conceivably be considered a good birthday present to give to Téa next week. But whatever he gave to her, he wanted his gift to represent all the friendship she shared with him, and all of the support she gave him during tough times. More specifically, something special that said "thank you" for everything she'd done for him and then some.

Like when Téa scolded Tristan and Joey for picking on Yugi and got back the the box they stole, which contained the pieces of his (yet to be assembled) Millenniun Puzzle.

Also, there was the time their bond depeened as he and Joey supported her dream (which she embarrassingly admitted) to study ballet and become a professinal dancer in New York.

Of course, who could forget her defending him after Seto Kaiba went to unbelievable and unecessary measures to ensure his victory against Yugi in their rematch in Duelist Kingdom?

The list went on and on, but there wasn't much point in thinking over it repeatedly. Téa had more than established the undeniable fact that she was a loyal, faithful, and an awesomly close friend. If only he could do something to...

"That's it!" Yugi exclaimed, his voice only a few notches away from shouting.

With everything that had happened in the past couple of days, Yugi remembered that he (technically) DID have something he could give Téa! Yugi quickly searched through his room and found the golden box that the his Millennium Puzzle had originally came from. Upon solving the Puzzle, there didn't seem to be much point in keeping the box around. But over time, he had decided to use it to stores personal small trinkets, including his five card set of Exodia, (which once were) his most powerful Duel Monsters cards. But among the items inside the box, there was one which Yugi was sure that with a little spit and polish, could be passed off as a wonderful gift.

It took a few seconds of rummaging through his shelves until he found the box. He eagerly placed the box on his desk, pulled up a chair and sat down. He lifted the box's lid off, and his eyes quickly scanned the various items within until he found "it".

Yugi took the small "trinket" out of the box and held it up to the light to get a better look at it. At that moment, his confidence had been recharged, and his worries dissolved. To turn this little seemingly ordinary object into a beautiful present that Téa might appreciate would take some time, a thing that Yugi didn't have much of. He had a week, to be precise. But despite the fact that time was running out, Yugi figured that a week would have to be enough.

All things considered, the end result of Yugi's hard labors and efforts by next week would hopefully prove to be beneficial for both himself and especially Tea. Yugi vowed to strive his hardest to make sure that this would be one special gift that Téa would never forget...

--------------------------------------------

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

Man alive, this sure took a while to write! (But not as long as I thought.) Well, the stage is set for some speculation and response from you readers, so now that I've done my job, you do yours! For the rest of you dueling fans, I can tell you this much...there will probably be some dueling action next chapter! And if not, then the chapter after, for sure! So be patient! I gotta boogie, so I'll catch up with you guys and gals later! Or to be more precise, we'll meet up next chapter! Bye!

**Special Advice of the Day: **If you can figure out how many pounds of sugar it takes to get to the moon, you are a god.


	4. They Stumble That Run Fast

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the distinguished characters displayed in this work of fiction. Is that easy enough for you to understand?? WELL!? IS IT!?!

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle **

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4 - They Stumble That Run Fast

The next seven days (or so) went by quickly for Yugi. It was something of a blur. He spent the week going to school, helping with chores around the house, and numerous other (similar) things, as well. But such tasks didn't concern the teen one bit. The one and only subject he focused on more than anything else was Téa's birthday party. Téa didn't want a traditional celebration consisting of cake, games, and entertainment. She WAS a bit old for that, anyway. The only remaining trait of a party that she left unscathed was the (universal) "entertainment" bit. Yugi remembered that she scheduled her party on the same day as the grand opening of the new "Millennium Arcade" place.

Solomon Moto, his grandfather, always paid Yugi a little money whenever he worked in the family Game Shop Sometimes he did so of his own will, or because Grandpa needed help. Yugi made it a point to put in a few extra hours for that week, to earn some extra spending money. Earlier, he remembered that he had given Joey that check worth three million dollars, which was the prize money that Yugi had won for him at Pegasus's "Duelist Kingdom" Duel Monsters competition. Supposedly, he could've asked Joey to lend him some of that prize money to help pay for the birthday present he was going to give to Téa. Joey probably would have no problem in doing so, but Yugi ultimately decided that it would be better if he accquired the money to pay for the whole gift himself; on his own merits.

On the day before Téa's birthday (and her birthday party), some of her friends at school gave her some small trinkets as early presents, and others at the very least wished her a happy birthday. Téa didn't mind either way. The concept that her birthday was practically here, combined with the knowledge that she was going to spend it with her closest friends warmed her heart. This resulted in a strong grin that was virtually carved onto her face and there was very little chance that it would vanish.

That night, Téa's friends called her up (or vice versa) to confirm how and when the festivities would commence. Téa was slightly concerned when she received calls from everyone but Yugi, so after five minutes of thinking, she decided to take the initiative and call the Moto family herself.

It was a little before dinnertime at Yugi's house when Téa called. Solomon Moto picked up the phone promptly and answered.

"This is the Moto residence."

"Hi, Mr. Moto. It's me, Téa!"

"Oh...evening, Téa."

"Is...uh, Yugi there?"

"I'm afraid not," Solomon stated, scratching his head. "He went out to run some errands."

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to make sure he knew when we were all heading out tomorrow," Téa replied.

"I'm sure that he knows when, but I'll have him call you all the same...once he gets home."

"Thanks, Mr. Moto."

"You quite welcome, Téa. And...Happy Birthday."

"Thanks again...see ya," Téa said, giggling a bit before hanging up.

About two minutes after the phone conversation ended, the front door swung open to reveal his grandson. Mr. Moto jumped about a foot and a half away, partly from surprise, and partly because he was standing close to the door when it opened.

"Aah! Watch that door, Yugi! I realize that you teenagers have the exuberance of youth coursing through your veins, but I have frail nerves running through mine!" Solomon gently scolded.

"Aw...c'mon, Grandpa! You're not THAT old! Aside from that back of yours, you're just fine!" Yugi calmly replied, yet putting on a nervous smile.

"So where were you? You were out for about half an hour! And by the way, Téa called a moment ago."

"She did? Well, I'll be sure to call her back. Anyway, I was out getting Téa's present ready. See?"

Yugi revealed to his grandfather a small box that he had tucked under his arm and opened it for Solomon to see.

"Ah! Very nice, Yugi! But why isn't it wrapped?"

"Well, I almost forgot to pick it up today, and by the time I got to the store...it was about closing time for them. They let me take it back, but there was no time for anything else."

"Hmm..." Solomon said, beginning to think. He stroked his chin with his thumb.

"What is it, Grandpa?"

"Why don't you give me Téa's present after dinner, my boy? I'm sure that I still have plently of wrapping paper leftover in the Game Shop."

"Really? Okay, thanks!"

* * *

When Yugi awoke the next morning, he saw his gift for Téa on his desk, neatly wrapped, compliments from his grandfather. He quickly got dressed (in his school outfit, no less), and then took a good look at the small box with Téa's present inside. The wrapping paper was white with little golden (eye-like) Millennium symbols all over it. And to complete the picture, a red ribbon was attached around the box, elegantly tied into a bow at the top.

_Nice job of wrapping, Grandpa, _Yugi thought. _I owe you one for this._

The short teenager picked up the box and took it downstairs with him. After a quick breakfast, Yugi passed the time by doing his household chores and finishing up some homework. Yugi would be leaving the house around two o'clock, but it seemed to take forever for that time to arrive! The boy was excited, especially now that he had finally accquired a great present for Téa. He couldn't wait to give it to her! He soon decided that it would be a good idea to take a short nap in order to be well rested for Téa's party later on.

Yugi's small digital clock read 1:52 pm once he woke up (for the second time that day) from his slumber. Everyone was supposed to meet at Téa's place around two. Yugi wasn't too concerned, since he could easily walk there. Nevertheless, it would be best not to dawdle and to leave sooner than later. The spiky-haired teen put on his blue school jacket and his black and white sneakers, grabbed Téa's present that he had left near the front door, and hollered "goodbye" to his grandfather. And with that, Yugi left and (half) ran to Téa's house.

But little did he know at that moment...he was being followed...

* * *

Over at the Gardner residence, Téa was trying on a new (and fashionable) jean jacket that her parents had bought her. The shorthaired girl looked at herself in a large mirror and smiled, sincerely admiring her new article of clothing. She looked towards the clock in her room, which read 2:03 pm. Like Yugi, she was totally psyched that her party was to commence soon. Her friends were scheduled to arrive very soon, and then they would all head out for a late lunch at a nice restaurant. Then it was onto the grand opening at 3:30 (in the afternoon) of the "Millennium Arcade" where they would lose themselves in endless hours of games and enjoyment. All in all, this equation would hopefully lead to an afternoon of fun.

* * *

Yugi quickened his pace even more as he got closer to Téa's house. He wasn't sure if his other friends were already on their way too, but all the same, Yugi hoped that he would arrive a Téa's house first. Even if it meant being alone with Téa for a few minutes, it would definately be enough time to offer his gift to her. Yugi couldn't wait to see the expression on her face when she saw it. She would look at it and say-

"OOF!!"

That was what exited Yugi's mouth as he tripped and fell. He was so lost in thought that he didn't see the tree root he stumbled over. Upon closer observation, that root looked an awful lot like someone's leg. And as Yugi's eyes moved upward, the "tree" connected to it looked very much like Brutus Malone from school. Yugi's emotions became a blended drink; an uneven mix of negative flavors including confusion, minor pain, alarm, and...fear. Brutus's eyes were stone cold, yet they also resembled silent ticking time bombs that could easily go off and explode with one wrong move.

* * *

Bakura hummed to himself, as he walked down the street with Téa's wrapped present in hand. Unfortunately, the street light turned red before he could cross the street. And the light had a "delayed green", due to the fact that this street was usually so busy with many cars zooming by at seemingly lightning speed.

"Oh, dear," Bakura said to himself, glancing right and left. "This street is usually so crammed with traffic. I wonder if I can find a quicker way to cross."

But just then, a faint gold glow once again appeared under his shirt…

"This is foolish…" the evil sprit of Bakura's Millennium Ring growled. "I feel utterly disgusted to partake in these ridiculous activities, while the other Millennium Items are out there, ripe to be taken! That idiotic Bakura! I should've taken control of another host body when I had the chance!"

The light hovering over the intersection finally changed, and "Dark Bakura" crossed the street with unexpected acceleration. And his usual malicious thoughts roamed throughout his brain and exited out his mouth.

"That despicable Yugi had better not interfere the next time our paths cross! I should be-"

"Yo, Bakura!" yelled a familiar voice.

"Rrr?" Dark Bakura grunted, realizing that someone was calling him.

From not too far behind, Joey and Tristan were walking together. Had they been looking more closely, they'd have seen that their friend's fists were tightly clenched.

But as Joey and Tristan came closer and closer, the fists slowly loosened.

"Hey, guys!" Bakura said, turning his head and displaying a cheerful look on his face. "Looks like I'm not the only one anxious to get to Téa's party!"

"Yeah, Bakura! We saw ya across the street and we dashed by the traffic just ta keep up with ya!" Joey almost complained.

"You walk faster than you think, man!" Tristan agreed.

"Ya training t'be a Olympic walker or somethin'?" asked Joey.

"Sorry, Joey," Bakura replied, scratching the back of his head and lightly chuckling. "I guess I just don't know my own speed!"

Bakura had been walking fast, but unconsciously. He truly DIDN'T know it.

* * *

"Well, well, well," Brutus said firmly, in a semi-smooth voice. "What do we have here? I do believe I've caught a geeky looking fly!"

Most girls at Domino High were pathetic enough to swoon for his tone of voice. Except for a select few like Téa, of course.

"Whaddya want, Brutus?" Yugi said, quickly scrambling to get up.

"Stay down, wimp!" Brutus hissed, grabbing Yugi by the back of his blue school jacket, and slamming him back down onto the ground.

The big bully would've advanced himself on Yugi again, but his eye quickly caught the wrapped present that had been dropped about a foot away from where the two boys were. Brutus turned his head more to get a better look at what could prove to be an added bonus, all tied up in a bow, quite literally.

"And what's this?" he said, leaving Yugi alone, and picking up the present from off the sidewalk.

"Hey, get your hands off that! It's for Téa!" Yugi yelled.

"Like I care! As far as I'm concerned, this is the perfect revenge for what you did to me!"

"Huh?"

"Thanks to you and your friends, the principal cut me from a good number of the athletic teams I was on! He smashed my chances of leading them to glory, and especially victory!"

"What's your point?"

"It means that in return, I'll smash THIS thing!"

"NO!!" Yugi yelled in desperation.

"NO!?" Brutus echoed.

The taller boy rudely chuckled at Yugi before talking again.

"Then what's it worth to you? Tell you what...since you're a nice kid, I'll give you a choice. Either I smash this present...or I smash YOU!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

Hello yet again, my excellent readers! Glad you all could join us to read this fourth chapter and I apologize for the delays! Once more I've found myself swamped with work, be it either in the house or at school! In any event, I finally got this chapter finished and posted, which is all that really matters! I was hoping to insert some dueling action into this segment, but as I'm sure you can see, things don't always go as planned! But so what?! That only means that there's all the more room for it in the NEXT bit! Yes, you heard right, fans! Break out the cards, and warm up those holographic dueling arenas, 'cuz in Chapter 5...IT'S TIME TO DUEL!!!

**Special Advice of the Day: **That's right, there's no advice this time! Besides, no one ever chooses to follow it! My curiosity has been piqued when it comes to learning about you reviewers, so I feel like asking a question this time, so here goes! I'm an avid comic book reader, so tell...who's your favorite superhero? That's all, just a simple question for you to think about! So while you all ponder, I'll write the next chapter! 'Til next time!


	5. Between a Fist & a Duel

**Disclaimer: **I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!", but you probably already knew that…and if you DIDN'T, then you're even stupider than I am! Umm…wait a second…

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

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Chapter 5 - Between a Fist & a Duel

Yugi watched in horror as the present he recently had in hand was now in the hands of yet another bully who had it in for him. People like Brutus Malone just seemed to pop up all over the place, and Yugi always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yugi had gotten used to the harassment and physical abuse that they inflicted on him, but the one thing he hated even more was when their antics got someone else involved. Yugi would much rather take the pounding all for himself, instead of getting his friends in trouble, despite the fact that they often said that it was no problem.

"So what's it gonna be, Yugi?" Brutus asked in his casual, calm, smooth voice. "You…or **this?**"

Yugi's eyes widened at the bully's indication of Téa's present that Yugi worked so hard for.

"Do whatever you want to me, but **please** just leave that gift alone! It's for Téa!" Yugi almost shouted, holding out his arm in response.

"Oh, come off it! Like I haven't heard **that** one a zillion times before! You're gonna make me **sick** with dialogue like that!" Brutus complained.

"I don't care! Just leave that present alone!" Yugi pleaded in a desperate voice, still on the ground where Brutus had flung him.

"Hmm…" the taller boy went, "Y'know what? I could smash a squirt like you anytime, but I'm feeling genrous today! How about we resolve this on YOUR terms?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know **exactly** what I mean, Yugi! You and I will **duel** for the rights to this stupid little gift of yours!"

"WHAT?!" Yugi yelled. "You're **nuts!** I'm not dueling you! That present belongs-"

"Yeah, yeah…it rightfully belongs to that Téa chick!" Brutus interrupted. "So…we gonna go at it?"

"Forget it, Brutus! I don't have time for this! I'll-"

"Be late for that little party of yours?" Brutus interrupted again, tossing Yugi's gift up and down with one hand. "Well, like I said…I'm in a charitable mood right now! So if you wanna go, then that's fine by me, **coward!** Go on, leave! But that won't change the fact that your present for Téa is still in MY possession!"

Yugi was still on the ground, but he had shifted to a (semi-crooked) sitting position. He stared the ground without really looking at it. He briefly became lost in thought.

_I can__'__t duel Brutus__…__there__'__s no time! __Téa__ and the others will be wondering where I am__…__her party would be ruined because of me! But if I don__'__t duel, Brutus might really damage that present!_

Yugi looked at the dashing, tall, slim (but muscular) and somewhat handsome teen standing before him. Then he looked at the present that Brutus stole. Yugi was ready to leave and forget the whole thing, but he visualized an embarrassing thought. He could almost see Brutus taunting him as he ran off, calling him a wimp and a chicken for not standing up for himself. Although it'd be humiliating, at least no one would get hurt.

The spiky-haired boy thought he might be able to handle that outcome, but then he saw IT. That rude and unbearably annoying smirk on Brutus' face. Yugi clenched his fists as he became filled with anger. His thoughts started racing again.

_No__…__I can__'__t just run away and act like this never happened! I worked hard to make sure that __Téa__ would receive a spectacular gift from me! And I didn__'__t come all this way just to see it get trashed! _

"Fine, Brutus!"" Yugi said, finally standing up. "If you want a fight…you'll get one! I'll duel you!"

Brutus observed Yugi carefully and saw the anger in his eyes, as well as his clenched fists. The bully slowly nodded.

"So the kid can actually stand up for himself! Follow me, then…I know just the place where we can do this!"

Brutus began walking in a different direction than the one Yugi had been heading. Yugi followed the older boy, angrily glancing at Téa's present, which Brutus still had in his hand. Yugi mentally vowed that he would get that gift back, no matter what!

* * *

Minutes earlier, Tristan, Joey, and Bakura arrived at Téa's house. Not surprisingly, Téa was outside waiting for them.

"Hey, guys!" Téa cheerfully called to them from afar.

"Good day, Téa!" Bakura replied in his usual kind voice.

"Yo, Happy B-Day, birthday girl!" Joey said, grinning.

Tristan just smiled and waved.

The three boys gave Téa gentle hugs and handed their gifts to her, but Téa immediately noticed that their diminutive friend was missing.

"Hey, where's Yugi?" she asked, looking around for him.

"Dunno…" Joey said, shrugging. "We ain't seen hide nor hair of our lil' buddy."

"Yeah…we thought we'd meet up with him, or that he'd already be here," Tristan added.

"Well, it would be rude to start things off without him," Bakura noted. "Maybe you should give him a call, Téa."

The birthday girl nodded, and half-ran back into her house. The three boys decided to wait outside. They were almost absolutely sure that they were worrying about nothing, but it couldn't hurt to make certain. Nevertheless, a blunt question sneaked into their heads and refused to leave…

Just **where** was Yugi?

* * *

"We're here, squirt!" Brutus quipped to Yugi, who was still following.

Yugi wasn't quite sure where they were. Brutus made sure that Yugi could follow wherever he went, but their route involved a lot of twists and turns, with their travels ending at the back of a large building. The taller teen impatiently knocked on the metal door before them.

His knocks went unanswered, so Brutus knocked again, harder this time. Almost immediately, it swung open to reveal an employee who also happened to be one of his friends.

"Uh, Brutus…what are you **doing** here!?" he asked in a partially stunned voice.

"You got a dueling arena or FOUR in there, right?"

"Uh…y-yeah…"

"Well, let us in! Mr. Moto and I have business to attend to!"

"B-but the Millennnium Arcade isn't supposed to officially open for-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Brutus snarled, grabbing his associate by the collar of his red shirt.

Yugi was stunned at the realization of where he was, especially since this place was his original destination.

_The Millennium Aracde__…__so this where we are?! I should__'__ve known!_

"You owe me a **favor!**" Brutus argued, looking ready to beat up his buddy.

"O-okay, fine! I'll sneak you in-"

"That's more like it! C'mon, small fry…let's go!"

Yugi had nothing to say, but he nodded with stone cold determination carved in his eyes.

Brutus' friend lead them to a particular location in the back of the gigantic arcade complex. Indeed, Yugi noticed that there were indeed four dueling arenas just like the ones he utilized at Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom competition. Brutus (out of the corner of his eye) watched his friend leave, and then he turned his attention back to Yugi, looking as angry as ever. Before talking, he pulled a deck of Duel Monsters cards out of his black jeans pocket.

"Okay, Yugi…let's settle this like men."

Yugi glared at the bully, who seemed to have it in for him so agressively. But his anger felt different from before. It was as if the negative emotion belonged to someone else and now amplified his own. And it was - so to speak. The short teen then felt a slight vibration from the object around his neck…

Within the course of five seconds, Yugi's feelings reached a burning climax…and the Millennium Puzzle around his neck began to glow brightly. Surprisingly, no one else in the building heard the shout that errupted from Yugi's throat, as that was the catalyst for the incredible tranformation that took place then and there…

"**YUGIOH!!**"

As the golden glow dissipated, a very different looking individual stood in place where Yugi had been standing. The white shirt that he had been wearing under his blue school jacket had now been replaced by a dark blue leather-like undershirt. The shade of blue on his school jacket and pants had now appeared in an indigo color. Black shoes were worn around his feet, instead of the black and white sneakers that had been there previously. He was slightly taller, and had a cold, serious look on his face. There were also additional blonde filaments from his forehead sticking upwards with the rest of his hair.

Yugi stood bravely with his arms crossed, but he now was infused with the ancient magic and mystical essence of his golden Millennium Puzzle. Yugi was now Yugioh, the King of Games! He spoke with a changed voice, which was deep and full of pure courage and confidence.

"All right Brutus, I'm ready when you are! It's high time you learned about respecting your fellow man! I will put up with your malicious antics no longer! **It's time to duel!**"

"Whatever…" the bully responded, hardly listening to Yugi and feeling just as confident that **he** would win.

The two duelists approached the dueling arena, with Yugi proudly taking his position at the blue console, while Brutus took the red side. Yugi took his own dueling deck of of his pocket and placed it on the console before him, while Brutus did the same. 2000 Life Points (for both players) quickly registered on the arena's scoreboard, and the duel began. Yugi and Brutus immediately drew their first five cards.

"After you," Yugi offered.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Brutus calmly agreed, as he drew a sixth card. "For my first move…I'll summon the Divine Dragon Ragnarok, in attack mode!"

As soon as the card was played, a bright glow of white light shined from the playing field, and a ferocious pale purple dragon appeared, roaring and howling like a wild dog. Its long serpent-like body emitted a faint glow, and small flashes of lightning surrounded the monster.

(Divine Dragon Ragnarok - 1500/1000)

Yugi just smiled as he also drew a sixth card, and added it to his hand.

"Your monster is strong, but I'll counter it easily and effortlessly…" he declared, holding up a single card.

Brutus crossed his arms, waiting to see what would come.

"…with a dragon of my own! Curse of Dragon, attack mode!"

(Curse of Dragon - 2000/1500)

A gold colored dragon appeared on the field. The monster displayed the same amount of ferocity and rage inside Yugi's mind, as well as his heart. No time was wasted in giving the order to attack.

"Curse of Dragon…attack with your Dragon Flame!!"

As soon as the words exited Yugi's mouth, a steady stream of firey energy erupted from the creature and blasted its counterpart into nothing.

"It appears the first strike is mine!"

Brutus scowled, unable to do nothing while his Life Points dropped down to 1500.

"And I'll end my turn by setting this card facedown!"

It was Brutus' turn again. He drew his next card from his deck, and looked at it closely.

"Well, lookie here! I drew something strong enough to put your dragon down!"

"I'm afraid you won't get that chance this turn!" Yugi hollered, immediately flipping his facedown card. "After you drew, you triggered my trap card!"

"Hm?"

"I activate Thunder of Ruler! This card prevents you from attacking me for one turn!"

"Doesn't matter! I can still summon monsters to the field…like this one!" Brutus announced, looking at the card he drew again before playing it.

Yugi's eyes narrowed in suspicion as Brutus's new monster appeared. It was appeared in the form of a cybernetic winged dragon with long claws, and shiny, metallic armor almost covering the entirety of its body. It wasn't exactly small, but it also certainly wasn't the largest creature Yugi had ever seen.

"Hold the applause for the mighty Cyber-Tech Alligator!"

(Cyber-Tech Alligator - 2500/1600)

"Impressive…" Yugi replied. "…but you've forgotten that my Curse of Dragon is still on the field. And with its help, your monster will fall!"

Yugi smiled at the new card he had just drawn.

_Perfect! This magic card I drew is just what I need!_

"Now I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

On the playing field a knight, dressed in blue and red armor, riding a purple horse appeared.

(Gaia the Fierce Knight - 2300/2100)

"So **what?**" Brutus went. "Neither of those creatures have enough juice to take on my monster!"

"Maybe not separately," Yugi stated, holding up his newly drawn card. "But with my Polymerization card, they create one unstoppable force! Fusing them together, I create Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

And just as Yugi said the mounted knight lept off his horse with ease and proptly landed atop the Curse of Dragon.

"And not only has my monster has transformed into a fusion version of itself, it also gains more attack points!" Yugi continued.

Gaia's purple horse began to glow and turned into a beam of light that struck Yugi's fusion monster and permeated through its body. Both duelists watched as the creature's attack power indeed increased by 300!

(Gaia the Dragon Champion - 2600/2100)

"You still think that my monsters are a joke? They sure seem to have enough power to eliminate your Alligator!"

Brutus just growled at Yugi's words, as well as his successful efforts.

"GO!" Yugi ordered. "Destroy his monster…with Double Dragon Lance!"

The fused creation did as it was told, and with two powerful slashes from the knight's twin lances, the enemy monster was vanquished.

Yugi managed to take Brutus down another peg, with his Life Point count now at 1400.

"Enough fooling around!" Brutus roared, drawing a card and holding it foward for Yugi to see. "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards from my deck!"

The teenager's eyes lighted up with heated anticipation upon first glance of the pair of cards he drew.

"I've drawn two magic cards which is guarunteed to put a **serious** hurting on you!"

"Is that so?" Yugi asked.

"See for yourself! My current hand doesn't have anything strong enough to pulverize your monster, but by discarding five cards I can activate this magic card…Judgement Blaster!"

"Oh, no!"

"In doing so, my spell destroys your Dragon Champion!"

The fusion monster on the field began to glow, and then without (much more) warning, it exploded into nothing. Yugi did his best to remain calm, and responded bravely to his opponent's action.

"You may have taken out my monster, but you've now discarded most of your hand! And that means you've run short of options, Brutus!"

"I'll have to disagree with you! I drew TWO magic cards from Pot of Greed's ability! That means I still have one card left! Take a good look, Yugi!" Brutus hissed as he held up his second magic card.

"What is THAT?"

"It's my Card of Sanctity!" Brutus announced. "It requires both of us to draw until we're holding six cards each! It may help you a bit, but it aids me **immensly!**"

"That's right!" Yugi exclaimed, fully realizing what was going on. "Since Judgement Blaster forced you to discard your hand, the Card of Sanctity now gives you an entirely **new** one!"

"Exactly! It ensures that I won't run short of cards! Now once again, I have a full hand to use against you!"

Before Brutus continued to speak, he looked at his new hand very carefully.

"And thanks to the cards I sent to my Graveyard, I can get a powerful monster onto the field now!"

"How?"

"By removing my Dark Witch and my Divine Dragon Ragnarok from play!" Brutus explained, holding up the two monster cards for Yugi to see.

Yugi glared at his opponent, anxiously waiting to see what would come next.

"I summon…**The**** Soul of Purity and Light!**"

(The Soul of Purity and Light - 2000/1800)

Both duelists watched the playing field, as a single square on the grid-like format on Brutus' side of the field glowed. The summoned creature that arose seemed to be actually two monsters working together as one. It resembled a young man with extremely short brown hair. From upward and behind him was a female angel. Though transparent, her arms lightly and softly draped around the male's neck, almost acting like some kind of protection ornament.

"But that won't be my only move, Yugi!" Brutus yelled. "Next…I'll summon Battle Footballer, in defense mode!"

Another cybernetic monster appeared on the field, encased in protective, metallic, colorful armor. Covering its face (and head) was an orange helmet with thick, dark wires sticking out of it.

(Battle Footballer - 1000/2100)

"Finally, I'll set one more card facedown! And it's back to you, but it doesn't matter **what** you do next!" the teen said, his voice gradually rising.

"What do you mean?" asked Yugi.

"What I mean is that when you got me in trouble at school, I got booted off the teams I commanded! Under my leadership, victory was always assured! But since I can't do so anymore, I swear now…no matter how long it takes, I'm gonna make sure you SUFFER!!"

**TO BE CONTINUED****…**

* * *

Whew! This seems to be like an ideal place to stop for now! All that action's got me sweating bullets, and this is only the tip of the iceberg! In the next chapter, the duel between Brutus and Yugi rages on, the acton heightens, and so do their tempers! And how will Téa (the birthday girl) and all of her friends find Yugi? Keep your cool, and I just MIGHT post the next chapter soon! See ya!


	6. Party Time!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!", or anything from the trading card game, or anything related to THAT, and stuff and junk and stuff...

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle **

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Chapter 6 - Party Time!

Outside the residence that was Téa Gardner's house, three teenagers stood outside nearby chatting casually. Joey, Bakura, and Tristan were also waiting for Téa, who was inside calling Yugi's house. Yugi was late arriving for the birthday girl's celebration, and they all wondered where he was.

"I wonda what dis new arcade's like! I bet it's gonna be sweet!" Joey exclaimed.

Before either of the other two boys could reply, they noticed a blue convertible pulling up towards their position. The female driver had a half-grin on her face. The boys weren't quite sure who it was at first, but once they saw the driver's long blonde hair, it was a no-brainer.

"Mai! Great ta see ya! How goes it?" Joey happily quipped.

The girl kept smiling and lowered the sunglasses she was wearing just enough so that her eyes peered through. Mai stepped out of her car, and then totally removed her shades.

"Well, well...hey there, you three cuties! Long time no see!" Mai said, leaning against the side of her car.

"Indeed," Bakura agreed.

"But why'd you bring your car?" Tristan asked.

"Why not?" Mai shot back. "Why should we walk all the way into town when I can simply drive us there?"

"Good call," Tristan replied, giving her a thumbs-up.

The other two boys looked at each other and nodded, just as Téa exited her house.

"Téa," Mai said, smiling and nodding once (in acknowledgment) at the birthday girl.

"Oh...hey, Mai!" Téa happily replied.

"Looks like the gang's all here..." Mai noted, looking at everyone who has arrived. "...except for that 'Yuge-ster'. Where is he?"

"I wish I knew," Téa said, her smile slowly disappearing. "I'm getting worried. I called his house, and his grandpa said that he left a while ago."

"Well, perhaps something came up," Bakura suggested.

"Or maybe Yugi got sidetracked," Tristan added. "But all the same, we should get moving. Since we're taking Mai's car, we 'll have a better chance of running into him, anyway."

"Yeah, Téa! And besides...I'm hungry!" Joey firmly stated.

"Typical," Mai quipped, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Well...okay," Téa said with some reluctance. "It doesn't feel right leaving without him, but I'm probably worrying about nothing. Let's go."

"All right!" Joey cheered. "I got shotgun!"

"Sorry, hon," Mai said firmly, putting her hand out in front of Joey's face. "But since Téa's the birthday girl, she gets to sit in the front. Hope that's okay with you."

Joey thought it over briefly, but the fact that it was his friend's birthday was undeniable.

"Ah, fair enough," Joey said, shrugging.

And without any further delay, the five friends got into the blue convertible and drove off.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Millennium Arcade, tensions were rising from two raging teenagers deterined to defeat each other at all costs. The match of Duel Monsters between Brutus Malone and Yugi Moto was well under way. Thankfully, it was Yugi's turn to try to tip the duel in his favor.

Drawing another card from his deck, Yugi thought over his options and formulated a stategy in his mind.

"You're sorely mistaken if you believe that I've wronged you, Brutus!" Yugi hollered to his opponent from across the dueling arena.

"Is that so?" Brutus clamly asked, suavely flicking back a small strand of his black hair out of his vision.

"It is! I'm afraid that you have things backwards! You bullied me and my friends, and you're also responsible for stealing Téa's birthday gift! As far as I'm concerned, **you're **the only one at fault here!"

"Wrong again, Moto! I told you...this is revenge, pure and simple! And since you and your friends were nice enough to get me in trouble, I'll make sure that what I do to you will be MUCH worse!"

"Saying you'll do so is one thing...actually doing it is another! Now let's continue this duel! I'll set one card face down, as well as a monster in defense mode!"

"Just another weak wall of protection for my monster to pound through!" Brutus angrily stated. "Soul of Purity and Light...SICK 'IM!"

"My monster's not going anywhere this turn!" Yugi fiercely retorted, flipping his facedown card. "Activate Spellbinding Circle!"

Brutus almost gasped as he watched a glowing circular shaped seal appear across the playing field, which immediately attached itself around his monster's waist.

"What th-"

"Your attack has been blocked by my trap card!" Yugi said, holding the card up briefly for his opponent to see. "It also depletes 700 points of your monster's total attack strength! And now that it's weaker, I'll flip my facedown monster into attack mode! Go, Rude Kaiser!"

As soon as the words exited Yugi's mouth, the monster upon the designated card appeared on the field before him. The ferocious (blue and grey armor-wearing) reptile roared at his counterparts on the opposite side of the dueing field, brandishing the sharp blades attached to the gauntlets on its arms.

(Rude Kaiser - (1800/1600)

But Brutus didn't seem worried in the least as Yugi's reptile attacked...

"Nice try, but your attack allows my monster's special ability to kick in! It can easily weaken your Rude Kaiser by 300 attack points!"

Yugi for a split second glanced at his console and saw that the reptile's attack score did indeed drop slightly.

"My creature's power may have decreased to 1500, but it's still stronger!"

"Wrong again, 'YUCKY' Moto!"

"What?"

"I activate my magic card...Shrink!"

Yugi was at a loss for words as he watched his own monster become smaller until it was about half the size it originally was.

"What have you done?" Yugi asked, enraged.

"Quite simple, really...my magic card cut the remaining attack power of your monster in half, reducing his strength count to 750! And as I'm sure as you can see...he's much too weak to take down my monster, even under your paralysis spell!"

Brutus was right, as the (extremely) weakened Rude Kaiser tried to attack the Soul of Purity and Light. One of its blade gauntlets crumbled to bits as soon as it slashed the opposing monster. The Rude Kaiser then tried to punch its adversary with its fist, but its efforts were in vain as the reptile glowed upon contact, and immediately shattered into pieces among pieces of itself, like fragments of a glass window pane.

"Not only is your monster gone, but you lost some serious Life Points as well!" Brutus said, pointing at Yugi and then laughing.

Yugi glared at his opponent and at the scoreboard (that displayed HIS Life Point count) as it dropped to 1450. He tightly clenched his fists before speaking.

"That may be so, but I haven't lost yet! This match is still on!"

* * *

Less than a few blocks away from the Millennium Arcade, Yugi's five buddies were all set to chow down on some delicious looking plates of food. Mai had managed to drive Bakura, Tristan, Joey, and Téa to the restaurant in record time. Téa walked off to a corner and tried calling Yugi's house again on her cellular phone. Meanwhile, the lunch orders had been brought to the table where everyone else was sitting.

"Heh, heh...come ta papa!" Joey grinned, while rubbing his hands together at the sight of the double cheeseburger and fries set down in front of him.

"It'd probably be a good idea to get back, people," Tristan jokingly warned. "The 'Joey Jaws' are about to feed!"

"Since it's Téa's birthday, I'll let dat one slide...and I'll only eat at half the speed I usually do!" the blonde male retorted.

"Disgusting," Mai said, frowning. She tried to block that nasty image from her brain as she sipped some soda from her glass.

Everyone stopped talking when they saw Téa returning.

"Well, any news about Yugi?" Bakura asked.

"None," Téa said, shaking her head and sitting down in the booth with everyone else. "I tried calling his house again, but no luck. Yugi's nowhere to be found."

"I wouldn't worry too much, honey..." Mai said, smiling. "...that Yugi is a good guy. I'm sure he would have an equally good reason for not showing up."

"Maybe..." the birthday girl responded in a somber tone. "I'm just really concerned. Yugi wouldn't have missed this for anything."

Mai continued to be optimistic, and put a comforting arm around her friend's shoulder.

"Look...I know that the gang's NOT all here, but it IS your birthday and there's no reason why such a perfectly good occasion like this should go to waste."

"Exactly," Bakura kindly adeed. "We may as well try to make the most of things while we're together."

"Okay...we'll figure out where Yugi is later," Téa agreed, and starting to smile. "Let's eat and then head over to the new arcade!"

"YEAH!" the other four people around her cheered in unison.

* * *

Back at the dueling site, the furious duel continued. Although Yugi's monster had been destroyed it was still his turn. Brutus was already thinking over his next move, but he made it a point to keep an eye on Yugi all the while, who kept quiet for the next few seconds, also thinking hard.

_Brutus keeps overwhelming me at every turn! There's not much else I can do at this point...I'll just have to keep my defenses up until an opening for an attack presents itself..._

"This should do the trick! Mammoth Graveyard, defense mode!" Yugi annouced.

Yugi's opponent showed absolutely no facial response at the skeletal remains of a gigantic mammoth, doing its best to stare him down from across the playing field.

(Mammoth Graveyard - 1200/800)

"Pathetic," Brutus growled, drawing a card from his deck. "Hmm...now it's time to show you what my athletic skills can really do in the game of Duel Monsters! But first things first! Ultimate Baseball Kid, step up to the plate!"

The picture on the card came to life as soon as it was slapped down on the dueling console. Yugi watched in partial confusion at the new monster made its debut. Unlike Brutus's previous tough-looking creatures, this one was short in height, with a round head, and was dressed in large red and yellow sneakers, as well as a red baseball uniform and cap. To complete the picture, the monster weilded a huge purple bat with spikes sticking out of it.

(Ultimate Baseball Kid - 500/1000)

"Next, I'll switch my Battle Footballer into attack mode!

It didn't take much to figure out where that Footballer was targeting its attack. That Mammoth didn't have nearly enough defensive points to stand up to anything.

"My monsters'll smash through whatever you put in my way! Starting with that Mammoth of yours! Footballer, send that zombie back to its grave! CHARGE!"

The football-related monster rammed itself into its target with near-lightning speed. Its metallic elbow smashed the Mammoth's bones to brittle pieces instantly.

"But we're not through yet!" Brutus added. "Now my it's other monster's turn to take a swing! I'll activate its special ability by sacrificing my Battle Footballer! It's necessary if you wanna win a game! He's taking a hit for the team, as it is!"

The Battle Footballer began to glow red and then vanished from sight. In its place was a floating red sphere of flame, about the size of a baseball. The Ultimate Baseball Kid began to glow red as well.

"What are you up to?" Yugi asked.

"Just sit back and enjoy the show! Ultimate Baseball Kid, you have your teammate's engery at your disposal! Smack a homer into Yugi's Life Points!"

The monster's eyes burst into flames for a split second, and it then immediately nodded at the duelist's command. The "Kid" swung its spiked baseball bat at the flaming ball hard. Yugi's gritted his teeth and his eyes widened as the fireball sped towards him with acceleration and accuracy, leaving a faint trail of flame in its path. It burst into a wide explosion of flames for a moment as it hit the outside of Yugi's blue console. The bright light generated from the fiery attack forced Yugi to shield his eyes. Brutus's menacing laugh echoed as the flames dissipated, while Yugi's score weakened by 500 Life Points.

"Your score's been beaten down to 950! I've taken the lead now!" Brutus snarled. "So...I'll just play one card facedown and see you at the finish line, chump!"

"We'll see about that!" Yugi declared, drawing a card. He only glanced at it once, and decided to use it now. "I'll attack with Silver Fang!"

The deep, yet wild howl of a wolf made its way into everyone's ears, matched with the sight of a beastly snow wolf, with an extremely pale olive fur.

(Silver Fang - 1200/800)

"Go, Silver Fang! Attack the Ultimate Baseball Kid!" Yugi ordered.

"You forget that my Soul of Purity and Light is still on the field!" Brutus reminded Yugi. "Your puny wolf loses 300 of its attack points!"

"It's still powerful enough to destroy your monster!"

Silver Fang made another howl as it lept towards its target, but before the attack went through, a flash of light appeared and stopped the wolf in its tracks.

As the light dissipated, Yugi expression a look of suspicion as he saw a long staff encrusted with jewels pointing towards his monster. Atop the staff was a round yellow sphere with small red eyes, and wings attached to its sides, and a sharp point attached to the head. Yugi's Silver Fang was frozen and its body became surrounded by an aura of light which seemed to trasnfer to the stange looking object.

"What's happening?" asked a shocked Yugi.

"I decided it was time for a javelin toss! An Enchanted Javelin, that is!" Brutus replied. "Once this card is activated, my magical staff traps your monster in place briefly! Then it clones its attack strength, which is added to my Life Points before your attack is completed!"

At that moment, the Enchanted Javelin that was absorbing the strength of Yugi's wolf, turned and pointed at Brutus's dueling console. The energy surrounded the javelin was focused into a thin beam and fired. Brutus's score increased by 900.

Both players watched this little scene play out. The Javelin vanished from sight, and Yugi's monster finally came out of its frozen trance. The beast-type monster completed its attack, raked its sharp claws across the Ultimate Baseball Kid, destroying it instantly.

"My Baseball Kid may be outta the game, but my score's still higher, thanks to my Enchanted Javelin!" Brutus noted.

The athletic teen was correct. The destruction of his monster cost him 400 Life Points, but the truth was that he gained much more than he lost, quite literally. Brutus's score was now noticeably much higher than Yugi's. The score was 1900 to 950, respectively.

* * *

"Ahhhh...man, oh, MAN! Did I ever eat!" Joey sighed, tenderly rubbing his seemingly inflated stomach.

"Yeah...we saw," Mai groaned.

Bakura and Téa lightly chuckled to themselves, while Tristan just rolled his eyes.

"Well, are we ready for some real fun now?" Téa asked.

"You better believe it!" Tristan declared.

"Umm...could you guys wait like five minutes?" Joey added. "I had three large sodas and I gotta run to da John!"

"Joey, you knucklehead!" Mai almost yelled, raising her fist. "This is **Téa's** birthday! Can't you act civilized for ONE day?"

"It's cool, Mai..." Téa said, nervously smiling (and sweating). "Five minutes is okay."

_Besides, _she thought. _I'm more worried about Yugi...where IS he? This isn't good..._

* * *

"This isn't good..." Yugi growled to himself.

"That's right, punk," Brutus agreed. "After everything said and done, I've ultimately lost a measly 100 Life Points! That puts me in a strong lead and places you at a enormous disadvantage!"

The eyes of both players narrowed into slits, with one pair of pupils staring ferociously into the other.

"I've given as good as I've gotten so far!" noted Yugi. "And I'll continue to do so until the end!"

"Which I have no doubt will come very soon!" Brutus shouted. "You might've made it past my first hurdle of hazards, but my team is full of other competitive creatures that'll finish you off! Get ready to lose fast and HARD!"

**

* * *

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TO BE CONTINUED...

Not a bad chunk of dueling action, if I do say so myself! You all got what you wanted (for now), so be kind and give me the feedback I want! Otherwise, it's Judgement Day for all of us! WA, HA, HA!


	7. Monster Mash

**Disclaimer: **We interrupt your consciousness to bring you this stunning news bulletin! This just in: Whose Liner does not, repeat, NOT own "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters!"...thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled pathetic existence...

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle **

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Chapter 7 - Monster Mash

Yugi Moto looked at his dueling console's scoreboard with an appropriate amount of worry and concern in his eyes. His opponent, Brutus Malone, executed some rather impressive strategies during the duel, and took a pretty strong lead as a result. But most of Yugi's thoughts kept drifting back to the wrapped present that he had gotten for Téa. It was so important to him, and he had worked so hard to acquire it. He also wondered if it was a mistake to accept this duel. Maybe he should have forgotten the whole thing and gone ahead to join Téa and all of his other good friends for her birthday party. At the same time, he justified his decision for the same reason. Allowing an obnoxious jock such as Brutus to trash Téa's gift was NOT an option.

What was at stake was also the cause of Yugi's current performance in his battle. He wasn't fully cognizant of the situation yet, but his mental state was unconciously having him worry more about what might happen to Téa's present, rather than focusing on the duel. It was a thought that could very well preclude and effect the outcome of the duel...

Still, the "King of Games" was trying hard to do his best. His thoughts finally shifted as he checked his lone monster on the field.

_Brutus has only lost 100 Life Points, while I've lost more than half of mine! I gotta stay focused, or he'll crush me! Silver Fang was able to destroy his last monster, but it's low attack points leave it virtually defenseless! It won't last very long unless I can protect it from harm...now let's see..._

Yugi took a long, hard look at the cards in his hand. An idea immediately sprung to mind when he saw the card inserted in the middle.

_All right, Mirror Force! This'll definately do the trick!_

"I set two cards face down on the field, and that will end my turn," Yugi stated.

"Fine by me!" Brutus retorted. "My Ultimate Baseball Kid may be gone, but I'm still in the lead! But why don't we change the sport? If you didn't enjoy baseball, then how about **boxing**?"

Yugi raised his eyebrows slightly in partial confusion.

"I summon Kangaroo Champ, in defense mode!"

And indeed, the new monster on the playing field was a pale orange kangaroo with black hair (and a beard), wearing blue boxing gloves and matching shoes. Around its waist was a giant belt, the kind that professional boxers wore after winning a title.

(Kangaroo Champ - 800/700)

Thanks to the effect of Brutus's fairy-type monster, Yugi's Silver Fang would lose 300 attack points when it attacked. But Silver Fang would still be powerful enough to get rid of the Kangaroo Champ, and Yugi couldn't allow another monster of Brutus's to remain on the field, for fear of it stymieing his efforts futher.

"Back to you!" Brutus finished.

"Fine, I'll summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!" Yugi announced.

The monster lived up to its name as soon as it was summoned. It was quite muscular and with long wild black hair, weilding a gigantic metallic shield with a purple emblem on it.

(Big Shield Gardna - 100/2600)

_My Big Shield Gardna has 2600 defense points, _Yugi thought. _That should be more than enough to hold off Brutus's attacks..._

"And next, my Silver Fang will attack your defense monster! GO!"

Silver Fang roared ferociously and raced towards the Kangaroo Champ, which covered its face with its arms. It was evidently all for naught, however, as Yugi's monster proved stronger and destroyed it's target with little (or no) effort.

"Attacking my Kangaroo Champ switches your monster into defense mode!" Brutus pointed out. "Not that it matters much, since ALL of your monsters will eventually go down for the count!"

It was probably all for the best, anyway. Attacking or defending, Silver Fang's meager power wouldn't provide sufficient protection for very long. At least this way Yugi wouldn't lose any Life Points if it was destroyed now.

* * *

"Okay, are we all ready to go?" Téa asked as she out her new jean jacket back on.

"Fuh sure!" Joey exclaimed, grinning and sticking his thumb up.

"So where exactly is this Millennium Arcade?" Tristan asked.

The group was at a loss for words until Mai spoke.

"Well, if memory serves...it should be about two blocks west from here."

"But its grand opening is today," Bakura noted. "Won't the entrance be crowded?"

"Not if we cruise there in style and top speed!"

Mai winked and pointed out the restaurant window with her thumb. Everyone's doubts vanished as they laid eyes on her car .

"Yeah, we'll beat the crowd and arrive in no time flat!" Tristan agreed, clenching his fist.

"Den what're we waiting for, troops!" Joey almost shouted. "Let's move out!"

* * *

Back at the duel, it was now Brutus's turn again. He looked at the next card he drew, then glanced at Yugi's side of the field. He was a headstrong bully, but he certainly wasn't stupid. As much as he wanted to smash Yugi's creatures over and over again, he saw the two facedown cards that Yugi had set not too long ago in plain view. His next attack would have to wait...for now.

"That Kangaroo Champ of yours was no match for my monster, Brutus!" Yugi yelled from across the arena.

"True, it may not have lived up to its name..." Brutus agreed, "...but I assure you, it'll be instrumental in my next move!"

"How so?" Yugi asked, displaying a curious look while Brutus prepared to make his next move.

"Now that my Kangaroo Champ is in the Graveyard, I'll remove it from play! Doing so allows me to special summon the mighty Gigantes!"

On cue, the hologram-generating dueling arena displayed the monster on the card. It was a gigantic red ogre-like creature with a grey horn on its head, wearing spiked armor, and held a huge tree trunk in its hand. Its howls and roars were so loud that Yugi almost had to cover his ears from the noise.

"And while my new monster defends my teammate, I'll also set one card facedown! And finally, I'll play Remove Trap to destroy your Spellbinding Circle!"

As soon as Brutus's magic card was played, the glowing circular seal that was holding the Soul of Purity and Light in place like a tight lasso glowed even brighter than before until a strange cracking noise was heard. The sound switched to that of a small explosion as the Spellbinding Circle broke into an incalcuable number of pieces, finally freeing the monster.

It came as a bit of a surprise that Brutus didn't attack immediately afterwards, and Yugi thought hard over what happened.

_He's being cautious because of the danger of my two facedown cards. If he's backed into a corner, then I may have a chance to go on the offensive!_

* * *

"All right! Finally, we're here!" Téa cheered as Mai's car parked at the curb nearby the Millennium Arcade.

"Told you I'd make good time!" Mai lightly boasted.

As the five friends got out of the car, they saw that already other people (either in their own cars or on foot) were headed their way, wanting to check out the new arcade themselves. A huge orange banner with the words "GRAND OPENING" in red letters hung over the entrance. Téa saw that there were a small number of people already inside, but they DID manage to beat the crowd.

"This should be fun!" Bakura said, smiling.

"OH, yeah!" Joey and Tristan exclaimed simultaneously.

Upon entering, the teens were amazed at what they saw. All kinds of games were hooked up in every inch of the building! Video games, crane games, pool tables, and so much more than the usual arcades they would hang out at. The complex was seemingly bigger on ther inside than on the outside, because the kids couldn't even see all the way to the end of the building. Moreover, there were a flight of stairs leading upwards to a second floor full of an even bigger variety of games. Off to the side was a snack bar, restrooms, and speakers attached to corners of the ceiling that played some rock music.

"Dis place is totally massive!" Joey almost shouted, astonished.

"So this is where you decided to spend your birthday at, Téa?" Mai asked, similarly surprised at how impressive the place was. "I gotta say, you sure know how to pick 'em."

"And we actually get to hang out in a cool place like **this**?" screeched Tristan. "I can't believe it!"

"Believe it, Tristan!" said a young-sounding, familiar voice.

Everyone turned around to see where the voice came from. Standing behind them with his arms crossed was a little kid with long black hair wearing a red shirt with striped sleeves. Around the boy's neck was a light blue bandanna. Everyone recognized who it was.

"Mokuba!" Téa exclaimed, in "neutral" surprise.

Seto Kaiba's little brother stood there keeping his arms crossed, but he had a half-smile on his face.

"Whatcha doin' around here, huh?" asked Joey. "Didja come ta check out the games, too?"

"Not exactly," Mokuba said closing his eyes briefly, as if he was in deep thought. "I'm actually here on business."

"You have a job that includes going to play at arcades?" Tristan wondered. "Sign me up!"

"That's not it. Y'see, the truth is that Kaiba Corporation provided the funding for this hangout."

"NO WAY!" the five friends responded in unison.

"It's true," Mokuba confirmed, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Seto paid for everything, among other things. That's why I'm here. My bro sent me to make sure everything was running smoothly on its opening day."

"Feh...leave it ta rich boy t'flash his big bucks wherever we go," Joey grunted.

"Since I'm in a good mood, Joey, I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Mokuba growled.

"ANYWAY..." Téa interrupted, attempting to diffuse the situation, "...it's my birthday today, and I thought this might make a good place to go for such an occasion."

"Really? Well, in that case...take these!"

Mokuba reached into his pockets and pulled out a two handfuls of game tokens. Quickly counting them up, he divided them up equally (or at least, to the best of his ability,) and gave some to each of the teenagers standing before him.

"Wow...thanks, Mokuba!" Téa said.

"Hey, it IS your birthday, after all...and also, think of it as thanks for everything you and your friends have done for me and Seto," Mokuba cheerfully replied, winking. "And speaking of which, would you mind answering one question?"

"What's that?"

"If today's your birthday...then why isn't Yugi with you?"

* * *

All the way in the back of the same building, Yugi drew a card from his deck, planning his next move..

_Hmm...that facedown card of Brutus's could be a trap to get rid of my monster. But if it's what I think it is, then this magic card I drew might help..._

"All right, Brutus! It's time's to cut your so-called 'team' down to size now! I'll activate this magic card I drew...Centrifugal Field!"

Brutus crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in minor curiosity.

"And since I don't have a monster on my side of the field powerful enough to attack yours, I'll just revive one...so I'll also play Monster Reborn!"

Yugi's side of the playing field glowed white, and a monster that had been sent to the Graveyard earlier appeared out of nowhere.

"Arise, Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

Brutus gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Now, my monster..." Yugi ordered, "...ATTACK!"

"Idiot!" Brutus shot back fiercly. "Since you clearly disregarded this this facedown card of mine, your monster might as well have charged into a brick wall!"

"No!" Yugi said as his monster exploded in a cloud of smoke and a flash of light.

"Oh, don't thank me...thank my trap card, Sakurestsu Armor!"

"What?"

"Just a simple little trap that destroyed your creature as soon as it tried to attack! So now your monster can hit the showers for a **second** time!"

"Not quite!" Yugi angrily disagreed. "My Centrifugal Field is still active! Since my fusion monster was destroyed by your trap's effect, my field magic card brings back one of the two monsters that created it! So, Gaia the Fierce Knight...**return**!"

Yugi's warrior-type monster did indeed return to the field, and it looked like it was poised for attack.

"It loses 300 attack points due to your Soul of Purity and Light, but with Gigantes's defensive power of 1300, it's hardly a hindrance for my Knight! GO!"

Upon Yugi's words, the Knight (mounted on its purple horse) stuck out its joust and charged towards the ferocious Gigantes. Bewtween the two monsters, the victor would be obvious. Impact was imminent and immediate.

The Knight's long red joust rammed into Gigantes, causing it to roar in pain as it vanished from sight, but its screams caused something unexpected to happen. The squares on Yugi's side of the dueling arena that designated his magic/trap cards lighted up and his hidden traps were revealed. Both players saw what looked like a pain of glass and an Egyptian sarcophagus appear on Yugi's end.

"What's happening?" Yugi asked anxiously.

"In destroying my Gigantes, you've triggered its special ability!" Brutus explained. "Before it goes to the Graveyard, it destroys all magic and trap cards on the field!"

_No! My Mirror Force trap is gone!_

This proved to be quite a setback, but Yugi quickly made a conscious effort to (mentally) stay strong.

"My Centrifugal Field and Mirror Force may be gone, but so is my other trap, Dark Coffin!" Yugi noted. "And once it's destroyed, this ancient casket holds the power to claim the life of one your monsters! And since your Gigantes has already been vanquished, the only monster left is the Soul of Purity and Light!"

Yugi's coffin trap opened up a crack, and a black stream of gas shot out of the opening. The gas formed into what looked like a pairs of wavy arms. Hands formed at the end and grabbed the fairy-type monster that had caused so much trouble for Yugi. The Soul of Purity and like shouted in horror, as it was pulled into the coffin, which immediately snapped shut. The coffin immediately sunk and vanished into the ground, never to be seen again.

"**RRRGH!**" Brutus growled.

"So much for your monsters!" Yugi said, grinning.

"We'll see about that, you little snot!"

* * *

Regarding Mokuba's last question, Téa was a a loss for words since she had no idea where Yugi even was. But words would definately come to everyone's mind as they heard what Mokuba said next...

"I mean, I know Yugi loves Duel Monsters and all, but you'd think he'd at least wait up for you guys before coming here to duel-"

"**WHAT **did you say?" Mai asked, wide-eyed.

"Y'mean...Yugi's already here?" Tristan went, in a disbeliving voice.

"Sure," Mokuba confirmed, pointing behind with his thumb. "I saw him playing a little earlier at one of the four dueling arenas installed in the back. I was gonna call out to him, but I didn't want to interupt his game."

Téa was about to ask exactly where the dueling was taking place, but that question would prove needless as she heard the voices of the other people who had entered the building.

"Man, check it out! There's already a duel going on!"

"Hey, it's that Yugi guy!"

"Aw, man...this is too cool!"

"Wonder if he'd battle me next!"

The group of six turned their heads. Most of the people who had continued further into the building saw the duel in progress. Téa, Bakura, Tristan, Mai, and Joey all looked at each other and realized that Yugi was now closer than they thought. They quickly ran to the back where the dueling arenas were located, with Mokuba following them.

* * *

"Give it up!" Yugi suggested. "Both of your monsters have been beaten, and the odds will be ultimately stacked against you in the end!"

"Is that so?" Brutus asked, looking at his cards for a moment. "Then I'll just have to **even** up the odds!"

Yugi just grimaced in repsonse.

"Time for a line change, Yugi! First I'll play The Shallow Grave, which allows me bring back a monster in face down defense mode!"

"Very well! It allows me to do so, as well!" Yugi added.

One of the squares on both sides blinked on and off, indicating the positioning of the resurrected monsters.

"Next I play the magic card Silent Doom! It revives one monster from my Graveyard, also in defense! And I pick Neo Aqua Madoor!"

A huge wave of water splashed onto the playing field, so fiercly that Yugi couldn't see anything. When the tsunami cleared, a new monster could be seen, kneeling on one knee, with its head down, and arms crossed against its chest. The monster was dressed in a red outfit, with a gray cape. It had pale violet hair, but its face was covered by some kind of mask. An eerie red glow came from slits in the mask where the eyes would be.

"My water-based spellcaster has more than a strong enough defense to safeguard my teammates' welfare! Not to mention that it outranks your Big Shield Gardna in attack and defensive power! Looks like anything your monsters can do, MINE can do better!"

(Neo Aqua Madoor - 1200/3000)

"And now for the offensive division! A team wouldn't be complete without its mascot! I summon the Mad Dog of Darkness!"

A loud, grotesque barking sound echoed through the area as a monstrous, dog-like mutant made its entrance. This particular dog had twisted horns atop its head, had viscious-looking eyes (that glowed blood red), and its paws were more like overly muscular claws, as was the rest of its body. Yugi's face cringed as he layed his eyes on the disgusting beast, which grinned evily, as a small puddle of drool oozed out between the slits of its clenched teeth.

(Mad Dog of Darkness - 1900/1400)

With the thought of Téa and her birthday present still eating away at half of his thoughts, Yugi was at a loss for words. Brutus, however, had more to say.

"Time to release my Mad Dog from its leash! It needs some time to stretch its legs...so to speak."

The seemingly insane beast lunged at itself at Yugi's Silver Fang. With only 800 defense to work with, the wolf had no chance against Brutus's (mad) dog.

"Well, now that I've swatted another one of your creatures, we each have three monsters staring each other down! But soon enough my team'll pound you and your puny monsters so badly, that your own mother won't even recognize you!" Brutus stated.

"That remains to be seen!" Yugi retorted.

He was doing his best to keep up a brave front, but his heart just wasn't giving enough drive in this duel. This was ludicrous! With odds such as this, Yugi thought he'd be slashing through Brutus, his monster, and his Life Points like a hot knife through butter. But he couldn't keep his mind focused on one thought for five seconds without it drifting to another. If only there was a way to-

"**YUGI!**"

The "King of Games" turned his head at the extremely familiar (and feminine) voice calling his name. Hardly noticing the big crowd that had gathered at the foot of the dueling arena, Yugi scanned downwards to pinpoint the source of the voice. Among the rest of the crowd (which he almost visualized in shades of grey), he saw six familiar, friendly faces, one of them sticking out more than the other five. The face's features were utterly recognizable...the neatly brushed short brown hair, the caring blue eyes, and the fixed expression of deep concern that was always there for him. There was no mistake. His eyes locked with **hers**. The name was on the tip of Yugi's tongue. It was-

"Téa..."

**

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TO BE CONTINUED...

Ahhhhhhhhh! Finally After all this time, I painstakingly finished another chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, my dedicated readers, but I've been unbelievable busy! SO busy that I can hardly believe it myself! Ah, well...in any case, it's done! Chew on it for a while 'til I get so bored that I wanna write my next chapter! So until next time, leave me alone! Ha!


	8. Race to the Finish Line

**Disclaimer: **Don't worry, don't worry...I STILL don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!", so you can all rest easy tonight.

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle **

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Chapter 8 - Race to the Finish Line

From atop a dueling platform a young man's purple fierce eyes were firmly locked in place with a pair of soft blue ones. In the newly opened Millennium Arcade, Yugi Moto completely ignored the duel he was previously engaged in, and focused his thoughts only on the female standing in the crowd that had quickly gathered around the dueling arena...one of his best friends, Téa Gardner.

From where she was standing, Téa could see the nervousness, concern, and panic in her friend's face. Her own expression shifted to one of anger as she turned her head slightly to glance at Yugi's opponent...that muscular, self-proclaimed stud Brutus. Once this was all over with, there was no doubt Yugi would attempt to explain why he did not arrive on time for her party. But being a smart and understanding girl (and judging from what was clearly going on here), Téa already figured out nine-tenths of the story.

"Yuge! So **this** is where you been hidin' y'self!" Joey yelled, breaking the private silence between Yugi and Téa.

"Yeah...why're you in a duel, man?" Tristan added.

Téa said nothing but held her hands together and held them to her chest, with her emotions returning to concern.

"This spiked-haired chump ran into a big problem...ME!" Brutus hollered down at Yugi's friends.

Joey growled and cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back.

"Hey...ya know what I like about jerks like you? NOTHIN'!"

"Joey, does the phrase 'do not provoke' mean anything to you?" Mai asked, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"My friends...they're all here..." Yugi fully realized, as his eyes widened.

Ignoring Joey's pointless rantings, Brutus kept his mind focused on Yugi and the duel.

"If cheerleading was the key to winning, you'd have beaten me long ago and we wouldn't be playing into overtime!" he sneered. "And if you don't make your next move, then this duel is **done**!"

Yugi would normally have something to say back, but at the current moment he remained unusually silent and stonefaced, with his eyes still pointed towards Téa. In his mind, the "normal Yugi" was looking back at his friend with uncovered shame and worry. His thoughts were a jumble, and were unable to vocalize coherently.

_Téa...I..._

Although that fragment of a sentence was only spoken in his mind, Téa responded immdiately, as if she had heard him anyway.

"Yugi!" she called up to him again. "Look, whatever happened...it doesn't matter now! Just do your best and win this!"

Téa's words coursed throughout his system like a miraculous medicine, curing his mind of whatever mental ailment was plaguing it. She couldn't haven't been more correct...Yugi had to get it together and keep it that way! He was the King of Games, and **nothing** would keep him from victory and retrieving Téa's birthday present! Already immersed in a new mindset, Yugi's random thoughts locked together into a recognizable order at top speed, like the golden pieces that made up the Millennium Puzzle which hung proudly around his neck.

Yugi finally broke his near-blank expression and smiled warmly at Téa (as well as his other friends), nodding once. He then turned his attention back to Brutus.

"All right, Brutus! I'm through putting up with all your barbaric, negative attitude! This duel is about to turn around, and when I'm finished, you'll regret ever inflicting your pugniacious manner on me!" Yugi said in a strong tone that had been revived, thanks to Téa's encouragement.

"Uhhh...anybody wanna translate all dat fuh me?" Joey asked, scratching his head.

"It means Yugi's about to teach this loser a major lesson in humility," Mai noted with a smile.

"Indeed! He'll be sure to put him in his place!" Bakura cheerfully agreed.

"Joey, you might wanna take a few lessons in my elementary school course...I'm sure everything it teaches would do wonders for that brain of yours," Mokuba said, smirking.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, YA LIL' CREEP!" Joey bellowed.

Bakura and Tristan quickly restrained Joey from advancing on Mokuba, holding his flailing arms in place.

"Clam up and calm down, Mr. Sensitive!" Tristan said. "The last thing we need is any more excitement around here!"

* * *

Back up on the dueling platforms, Yugi and Brutus readjusted their primary attention to the game.

"Let's get back to business!" Brutus hissed. "Two teams of Duel Monsters are ready to rumble on this playing field, and it's about to get real messy! I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"Fine, I draw!" Yugi said with renewed confidence.

Studying his hand carefully, Yugi weighed his options, and tried to formulate a new strategy in mind.

"I'll also set two cards facedown, and then I'll attack your Mad Dog with Gaia the Fierce Knight!" he shouted.

"Think again!" Brutus announced, activating one of his face down cards. "My Negate Attack trap'll force your Knight to retract that joust of his!"

Gaia's long red joust stopped short of ramming itself through Brutus's Mad Dog, now protected and shielded by a white circular, spiral-shaped pattern of light. The mounted Knight recoiled backwards onto Yugi's side of the field.

"My turn again!" Brutus pointed out, drawing a card from his deck. "And I think it's way past time to finally put down your Knight for good!"

Yugi exhaled a frustrated breath through his gritted teeth.

"I'll switch my revived face down monster into attack mode! Remember my Cyber-Tech Alligator? Well, it certainly remembers your Knight!"

The firece, cybernetic creature appeared out of nowhere and roared with a sound that sounded like a synthesized, "metallic" howl, while Brutus continued to speak.

"It also recalls the beating Gaia inflicted on it, so now's the moment for payback! Cyber-Tech Alligator, seek your revenge!"

"Not just yet!" Yugi replied. "My trap card, The Regulation of Tribe, will take care of things! It allows me to prevent one type of monster from attacking, and I chose machine-type monsters!"

Eyes from the crowd watched in awe as a elderly (holographic) individual, dressed in a red and bright orange cloak appeared on the playing. In its hands was of a thick, long chain. As the Cyber-Tech Alligator leaped towards Yugi's Knight, the elder threw the chain diagonally upwards, in the direction of the oncoming monster. The Alligator was binded by the chain, which by now had wrapped itself around the monster's body, making it incapable of moving.

"Sorry, Brutus...but your vengeance will have to be put on hold for now! As long as my trap remains in effect, your monster can't attack!" Yugi noted.

"Not as long you think!" Brutus retorted. "I'll counter with Trap Jammer!"

Upon flipping his other face down card, what looked like a bear trap shot out of the ground. Attached to its own chain, it rose higher and higher until it reached Yugi's line. Brutus's trap shut it's metal jaws across the chain preventing the Cyber-Tech Alligator from completing its move. With Yugi's link now severed, the elder holding it vanished. And Brutus's monster was once again on the attack.

"Aw, man! Not good!" Joey complained.

"Hang tough, Yuge!" Tristan yelled.

The Alligator swiped once with it's long, tough set of metal claws across Gaia, then did the same with the other hand. Yugi's Knight was destroyed with the utmost precision and accuracy.

"That was your Knight's third strike...and he's out, as well as 200 of your Life Points!" Brutus snarled. "And now my Mad Dog'll take a bite outta your hidden defense monster!"

Yugi's Curse of Dragon was forced to reveal itself upon the monster's attack. The Dragon was stong, but not tough enough to fend off the Mad Dog of Darkness. The beast took a huge bite into the dragon's side, and before anyone had a chance to blink, it shattered into pieces.

"Well, what luck! If it isn't the **other** fusion-material monster that helped defeat my Alligator! How wonderfully ironic that I get to destroy it as well!"

After finishing it's move, the Mad Dog retreated back to its side and growled in a low tone.

"HA, HA, HA! Good boy!" Brutus cackled, praising his monster.

"YUGI!" Téa, Mokuba, Joey, Bakura, Tristan, and Mai yelled simultaneously in a panic.

* * *

Among the cheering crowd of people (as well a few feet further away), was a short 5-year old brownhaired boy wearing black jeans, a red T-shirt, and matching red sneakers. He was admiring the action from afar, but wanted to literally get a closer look at Yugi's magnificent and outstanding dueling skills, but unfortunately-

"So **there** you are, young man!"

The boy turned around and looked upward to see a woman tapping her foot, arms crossed, and wearing a slightly upset look on her face.

"I specifically told you NOT to wander off! Domino is a big city!"

"I didn't go too far!" the boy protested, scaratching the back of his head, where his hair stuck out. "I jus' wanted t'see the games in here!"

"Nevertheless, you almost got lost! Come along, son...we're going to be late."

"Aw, Mom...!"

The mother took ahold of her son's hand and prepared to leave. But after two steps, she stood in place for a moment and took a quick look at her son's innocent face. She sighed, partially feeling sorry for him. No REAL harm had been done, after all.

"Look...if you behave, I promise I'll bring you here tomorrow to play. Now let's go!"

The young boy looked back and caught one more glimpse at the Duel Monsters match that was taking place. A feeling of admiration, fascination, and excitement coursed through the kid's being, as he wished for what just about every duelist desired...to be the next King of Games! The road to become so would be a difficult one, no doubt. However, among all competitors, there were always a select few who had the drive, determination, and (most of all) heart to rise above the rest. The child then made a promise to himself to be one of them.

It was just be a matter of time until-

"Don't make me drag you!" the boy's mother said, interrupting his thoughts.

"But...!"

"NOW, Jaden!"

* * *

"I'm not giving up just yet!" Yugi announced to his opponent.

"Good! That stubborn attitude of yours will ensure that you keep coming back for more!" Brutus shot back.

"All right, Brutus! You want more? Well, don't worry…"

One of Brutus's eyebrows lifted up in slight suspicion.

"…you'll GET more."

"We'll see about that! I'll activate a magic card, Nightmare's Steelcage!"

A steel dome-shaped, spike-covered cage lowered itself onto his side of Yugi's side of the field, trapping his Big Shield Gardna.

"This card's effect will prevent all attacks for two turns!"

"Maybe so, but I can still summon monsters to the field!"

Yugi looked at the new card he drew from his deck and decided to immediately play it.

"I call my Summoned Skull into battle!"

Yugi's new monster looked like an horrific skeletal structure of a giant, with purple muscles underneath, and dark blue bat-like wings attached to its back. It grimly stared down Yugi's opponent(s) with its piercing emerald green eyes. It was immediately restrained from attacking thanks to the Steelcage that was still in play, but Yugi would be sure to find a way around this small setback sooner or later.

(Summoned Skull - 2500/1200)

"I'll end my turn there!"

Brutus wasn't quite sure what Yugi was up to, but there wasn't much he could do this turn.

"Fine, I'll just switch my Mad Dog into defense mode, then set one card face down! Now I can just sit back, and enjoy the show! Three monsters to your two still means you're outnumbered!"

"Not for long! I intend to even up the score!"

Yugi took a good look at his newly drawn card and smiled, knowing it would be of use right now.

"I activate De-Spell! This card will destroy the magical cage imprisoning my monsters!" he explained.

The Steelcage quickly evaporated off the field, but things weren't over just yet...

"And the next thing to go is your Alligator! I play Makiu, the Magical Mist!"

Brutus widened his eyes as the playing field was dealt a light shower of rain.

"Since our strongest monsters wield equal strength, a fight between them would end in a stalemate! But for one turn, Makiu's enchanted rain will rust your mechanical Alligator, and lower its attacking ability by 300! And next, my Summoned Skull's power grows!"

The Cyber-Tech Alligator's metallic body turned various shades of brown, gradually rusting. The machine-type monster found itself struggling to make the smallest movement until it found itself unable to move at all. At the same time, Yugi's Summoned Skull roared ferociously as it raised it arms and began generating terrifying jolts of electricity between its claws. It's strength increased to 3250, while the Alligator's attack decreased to 2200.

"Summoned Skull, Lightning Strike Attack!" Yugi roared.

The fiend-type monster pointed its claws towards Brutus's monster, and shot a huge stream of electricity at it. The Cyber-Tech Alligator exploded one second after contact, and Brutus's score was depleted by 1050, leaving him at 850 Life Points. The wide gap between the two scores had now been narrowed quite a bit.

"All right! Now Yuge's only behind by 300 Life Points!" Joey happily noted.

"You can do it, Yugi!" Téa cheered.

"Take him down, man!" Tristan yelled.

Yugi looked at his friends and nodded with a smile.

"Had enough?" he asked in a fierce tone.

"I'll show you **enough**!" Brutus growled. "As I'm sure you're aware, light cancels out darkness! And my Luminous Soldier will make good on that fact!"

Brutus's next monster was quite a doozy as it was summoned. The warrior-type monster wore a gold mask over the top half of of its head, which resembled the sun, while its body was protected by bulky (and spiky) white armor with red flames painted on it, which almost seemed to glow. In its right hand was a gigantic spiky white sword that matched the monster's armor perfectly.

(Luminous Soldier - 2100/1400)

"Impressive," Yugi admitted. "But that monster isn't strong enough to destroy my Summoned Skull!"

"But it is!" corrected Brutus, displaying a savage grin. "My monster's special ability activates now! The Luminous Soldier gains 500 extra attack points when it battles a monster wielding an attribute of darkness, so it's a good thing that your Skull fits the bill!"

"No way!" Joey hollered from down below.

"He's right!" Bakura noted to everyone else.

"What're you talking about, Bakura?" Téa asked.

"Yugi's Makiu magic card wore off, so his Summoned Skull's attack power dropped back down to its original strength of 2500! And the Luminous Solider starts off with 2100! Therefore-"

"The power bonus it gains makes it just strong enough to wipe out Yugi's monster!" Tristan realized.

* * *

In the heat of this battle, Yugi had nothing to say at the moment, but his mind always did its best to sort out the situation.

_There's not much I can do right now, so I'll just have to hit him with something stronger on my next turn!_, he thought.

"Luminous Solider, attack now!" barked a voice interrupting any other thoughts Yugi had.

The Soldier now had 2600 attack points at its disposal, and moved to destroy Yugi's fiend without hesitation. With one gigantic slash of its blade, the Summoned Skull became nothing but a pile of decayed bones, vanishing from the playing field.

"That's one more monster disqualified from your team, and 100 more Life points subtracted from your score!" Brutus yelled.

With less than 500 Life Points remaining, Yugi made a mental note to be even more cautious with his subsequent plays. As he drew his next card, he decided it would be best to play it safe for now. That is to say, until he could concoct a proper strategy.

"My move! I'll set a monster in defense mode, and end my turn!"

"Doesn't matter! Because this is where I make the winning shot!"

"Say WHAT?" Joey screeched from the crowd.

"As if! Yugi's the one who'll beat this obnoxious jerkface!" Mai argued.

Yugi's other friends might've added their (similar) opinions to the mix, had they not been so busy watching Brutus's next move.

"My next turn will ensure first place for my team of monsters!" Brutus said. "First, I'll activate my facedown spell, Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Yugi watched in horror as a small tornado stormed its way onto the field. It whirled over to Yugi's side, where a large, holographic facedown card appeared.

"This powerful magic card can destroy one magic or trap card on the field! So, just to make sure you don't pull any last-minute tricks outta your sleeve, I'll annihilate that mystery card of yours!"

The magical cyclone sucked the card into its whirlwind. After being tossed back and forth through the torturous wind, the card was pulverized into holographic dust.

"And before I score the final goal, I'll play another magic card called Obedience! Y'see, victory is a moot issue if your team doesn't follow your orders! If they can't even do that, then there's nothing you can do BUT lose!" informed Brutus.

"What nonsense are you spoutting?" Yugi exclaimed.

"My magic card has the power to switch your Big Shield Gardna into attack mode! In such a position, your warrior wouldn't even block a tennis ball!"

"No, I don't believe it!"

"Eyes front, Yugi! This competition is over as soon as my Luminous Soldier eradicates your Big Shield Gardna!" reminded Brutus.

Yugi and his friends all watched helplessly as his defense monster stood up from its kneeling positon and stood up straight, now holding its large metallic shield at its side, rather than in front of itself as protection.

"With only 100 attack points, my warrior won't withstand the assault of your monsters!" Yugi noted.

"How very true!" Brutus agreed. "I'm always the last man standing, Moto...everyone else **loses**!"

Brutus's Soldier lept into the air, rasing its sword above its head, descending fast so it could strike. The spectators - consisting of both friends and fans - all held their breaths, waiting impatiently to see the outcome and desperately hoping for a miracle to occur. But the scoreboard still displayed the unalterable truth that Yugi only had 450 Life Points left. Beads of nervous sweat ran down the spiky-haired teenager's forehead, and for good reason. Because these next exchange of blows would prove to be quite nasty. Téa's eyes widened and refused to blink even once. She covered her mouth tightly with both of her hands, trying hard not to gasp, or cry, or do something equally dreadful. But her inability to speak at this juncture didn't matter much, since Brutus had enough talk for everyone.

And his next words echoed through the ears of Yugi and Téa more clearly than anyone else who was listening.

"Luminous Soldier...**ATTACK!**"

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED...

WOWZERS! Boy, oh, boy...it's seems like it's been an eternity and a half since last I posted a new chapter! I truly hope that this action-packed segment of Yugi's duel was well worth the wait1 Sorry, but when sloth and laziness demand attention, one can not easily ignore it! Anyway, this story is nearing its end...but not just yet! There's still more dueling to be done in Chapter 9, and I bet you're all itching to find out what happens next! So, until next time...uh, er...ah, geez...ummm...sheesh...look, just...uh...remember to brush your teeth, okay?


	9. Piece of Cake

**Disclaimer: **Would someone kindly take my dream of owning "Yu-Gi-Oh!" off my hands? I got better things to do!

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

-------------------------

**Chapter 9 - Piece of Cake**

Numerous pairs of eyes watched simultaneously at the match of Duel Monsters playing out before them. There were so many that the count may as well have been in the millions. Most of them displayed exuberant cheer, others showed panic, some expressed signs of thumb-biting nervousness, but a few handful were wearing all of these emotions at once, and then some. This handful consisted of six kids - Téa, Mokuba, Bakura, Tristan, Mai, and Joey - who just happened to be the best friends of one of the dueling competitors.

The competitor in question, Yugi Moto, whom many addressed as the "King of Games" was staring down his opponent and his group of holographic monsters.

The opponent in question, Brutus Malone - whom some knew as an athletic bully (albeit he was good looking and not overly muscular) - was in the middle of delivering the crushing blow to his adversary.

Brutus's Luminous Soldier lept into battle, readying itself to slice Yugi's monster in half. But since Big Shield Gardna was equipped with very few attack points, it seemed as Yugi's defeat was imminent.

As the spectators watched the attack follow through, everyone (partially out of reflex) held their breaths in suspense.

Everyone that is, except for one particular birthday girl.

"No! Yugi can't lose this match! He just can't!" Téa cried in a panic.

"It's **over!**" Brutus almost roared.

"Oh, really? I'm not out of moves yet! **GO!**" Yugi fiercly retorted with a flourish.

The Luminous Soldier had raised it sword over and behind its head and proceeded to swing it directly forward at Yugi's Big Shield Gardna. But before the second half of this task could be completed, the ground opened up in front of Yugi's monster and a gigantic metallic reptile rose to the playing field. Although it was hard to see, a big red "S", and a black "N" was printed on its chest. It quickly pointed its mechanical tail at the Luminous Soldier and fired a huge bolt of electricity at it. Now surrounded by an electrical aura, the attacking monster became paralyzed and was forcibly lowered to the ground (as was its sword in hand). As soon as this was done, the mysterious monster vanished.

"What th-" Brutus went, too stunned to say anything else at the moment.

Yugi briefly chuckled and grinned before answering.

"So sorry to disappoint you, Brutus...but you're fooling yourself if you really believe that I'd let my monster come to harm so easily!"

-------------------------

Below the dueling arena, everyone was looking at each other and shrugging, trying to figure out what had just ocurred.

"What's goin' on?" Joey asked.

"I'm not sure, buddy," Tristan replied, with an equally perplexed look as anybody else who was watching.

Téa also had no more idea than her friends as to what Yugi may or may not have done, but she had a feeling that he would explain his actions, as he usually did.

-------------------------

"You were so intent on wiping my cards off the playing field, that you didn't realize my counter strategy! When you activated your Mystical Space Typhoon, you thought you had destroyed my face-down card! But in truth, I had already activated it!"

Brutus, Yugi's friends, and the rest of spectators looked closely at the pair of cards Yugi temporarily took out of his Graveyard to show. His opponent quickly recognized the trap card.

"Magic Jammer? But why would you wanna flip it face-up? My magic card would've done away with it anyway!" Brutus pointed out.

"True..." Yugi continued. "...but in order to spring this particular trap, I'm required to discard one card from my hand! And I chose **this** one!"

Using a swift and slick movement with his fingers, Yugi switched around the two cards in his hand so that the other one was now in front.

"What's that!" Brutus impatiently asked.

"I'll tell you...it's my Electromagnetic Turtle! I discarded it from my hand to activate my Magic Jammer trap! And once it moves to the Graveyard, it has the power to end your turn whenever I choose! So your attack was cut short!"

(Electromagnetic Turtle - (0/1800)

"You might've managed to avoid the bitter taste of defeat this round, but I'll make sure you won't do it again!" Brutus growled, shaking his fist.

"Don't make promises you can't keep!" Yugi said firmly. "Since your turn is over, I'll switch my Big Shield Gardna back into defense mode! And next I'll set one card face-down! That's all for now."

_His Luminous Soldier weilds 2100 attack points, but his Neo Aqua Madoor has an overwhelming defensive strength of 3000! For now, defeating it is my top priority! And that magic card I set may do just that!_

"That Big Shield Gardna may be back in defense mode, but who needs to attack it when I can take it out with this magic card?" Brutus boasted.

"What?" Yugi hissed.

"Offerings to the Doomed will make short work of it!"

From out of the ground rose long sheets of white wrap, which surrounded Yugi's (face up) defense monster, but Yugi was all too prepared to counter the situation...

"Are you sure you have the correct monster in mind?" Yugi retorted. "Because my face-down card would tend to disagree!"

A flash of golden light graced the playing field with its presence, as Yugi flipped his set card face-up. A single arrow seemingly made of gold, floating in mid-air, emerged after the light dispersed.

-------------------------

"What in the world...?" asked a semi-speechless Mai.

"Ah! That's the Living Arrow card!" Bakura realized. "With it, Yugi can take the effects of one of his Brutus's magic cards and use it against him!"

"Aw, yeah!" Joey cheered. "I knew Yuge still had an ace up his sleeve! Can't wait ta see him mop the floor with this slimeball!"

"Yeah!" Tristan agreed. "Yugi's better than this dude and he knows it!"

"Bigger, better, stronger, faster...is that all you boys ever argue about?" Mai asked with a half-frown.

Joey and Tristan looked at each other briefly and scratched their heads before responding.

"Yeah, pretty much!" they answered in unison.

-------------------------

"With this enchanted arrow now active on the field, I can use its power to merge with one magic card that you've played!" Yugi explained.

"Just go already!" Brutus snarled.

"As you wish! I'll use the Living Arrow to merge with your Offerings to the Doomed card, and transfer its effects back to one of your monsters!"

The Arrow (which was pointing itself at the monsters on Brutus's side,) seemed to lead the wrappings away from Big Shield Garnda, and towards a new target of Yugi choice.

"I'll direct my Arrow at your Neo Aqua Madoor!"

Eyes everywhere followed the arrow as it lauched its attack (from one side of the arena to the other) on the water-based spellcaster.

It struck the monster and exploded on contact with no visible effect at first, but following right behind it were the magical white bindings intially meant for Yugi's monster, now aimed at this one.

Brutus's creature struggled for only a moment, before the wrappings completely covered the monster, now only recognizable from the shape of its body. The monster was pulled into the ground either with barely any effort (from the wrappings) or with very little resistance (from the monster).

"Your monster and its impenetrable defense is no more!" Yugi pointed out.

"You may have gotten my Neo Aqua Madoor outta the way, but it hardly matters! If it couldn't defend itself, then it got what it deserved!" Brutus growled in a low voice.

"How sad," was all that Yugi could say.

"I still have my Luminous Soldier in play, and now it'll attack your other monster in defense mode!"

The Soldier raised its sword with one hand, and slammed it down on the blinking square where Yugi's monster was "hiding." As soon as the sword touched down, the attack exposed a huge monster made of grey-colored rock kneeling on both knees.

(Giant Soldier of Stone - 1300/2000)

"No! My Stone Soldier!" Yugi cried, as he watched his defense monster crumble into piles of rubble from the Luminous Soldier's sword.

"That's the best defense you can muster so far? How disappointing! You're making it too easy to score hits on your monsters!" Brutus scoffed.

Yugi decided not to escalate the argument, as he was growing weary of it. He drew his next card and thought intently...

_This magic card I drew won't help right now...none of the monsters in my hand are strong enough to take on that Luminous Soldier!_

The teenager's thoughts immediately shifted as he looked at the rest of the cards in his hand.

_Wait a minute! If I can combine **these** two cards with the one I just drew, it might get Brutus's monster off my back for good!_

"Move it or lose it, Yugi!" Brutus yelled.

Yugi just shot his opponent a solid, unscathed look of certainty, and flashed a small grin.

"I'll play the magic card Sword of Dragon's Soul! Attached to a warrior-type monster on the field raises its power by 700!" Yugi announced.

"Your Big Shield Gardna may be a warrior, but wasting that magic card on it would be pointless! Its attack would only increase to a measly 800!" Brutus noted.

"You misunderstand...I'm **not** using on my Big Shield Gardna. There's another warrior on the field that the Dragon Sword will effect...and that's your Luminous Soldier!"

-------------------------

"He's gonna power up Brutus's monster!" Téa nearly sputtered.

"Just **what** is Yugi thinking?" Mai asked.

"Hey, just sit back and let Yugi work his mad duelin' skills!" Joey said with glee. "He'll make this chump regret that he was ever born!"

"Hope you're right," Mai calmly replied, although she was pretty sure that Joey was speaking the truth.

-------------------------

The huge sword wielded by the Luminous Soldier disappeared and was replaced by a long spear-like weapon, with razor sharp blades at its tip.

"Boosting its power to 2800 makes it strong enough to crush your defense, so why would you equip that card to **my** monster?" Brutus demanded to know. "Unless you finally realized that you're done for?"

"Far from it!" Yugi yelled. "Next I'll activate another magic card, Eternal Rest! This card destroys all monsters on the field attached to any other card! So say farewell to your last monster, Brutus!"

The althetic teen fumed as his Luminous Soldier exploded on the spot, leaving only a small cloud of smoke where it stood.

Yugi heard words of encouragement and support from the audience down below, especially from his friends. But he remained focused on the task at hand. Now, more than ever.

"It seems your team isn't as undefeatable as you'd like to believe!" Yugi stated, pointing at his opponent.

"So **what**? I can easily revive them if I need to!" Brutus argued.

"I'm afraid you won't have that option any longer! To complete the picture, I play Soul Release! This card allows me to remove from play as many as five cards from either player's Graveyard! And I choose your Soul of Purity and Light, Mad Dog of Darkness, Neo Aqua Madoor, Luminous Soldier, and Cyber-Tech Alligator!"

As he removed those five monster cards from his Graveyard, Brutus muttered something very inaudible. It was almost a sure thing that it was a statement which would've weaved like poison through a young one's ears, given the opportunity.

"Now that you've been relieved of those monsters, perhaps this little setback will throw **your** game off!"

"Don't count on it!"

Brutus looked at his hand and remembered that he couldn't draw this turn, as it was the downside effect of playing Offerings to the Doomed. Those cards would have little or no effect...except for **one **of them...

"All right, shorty! Time for me to get ahold of the rebound and take control of this game again!" Brutus proclaimed.

"I'd like to see you try!" Yugi said, crossing his arms.

"Don't say I never warned you! I'll set one monster card in defense mode and that's it!"

Down in the crowd, Téa looked at Yugi with so much emotion bubbling inside, yet she couldn't let it out. After all of the furious duels Téa saw Yugi engage in, she thought she'd be used to this kind of situation, chock full of close calls and high stakes. Her thoughts made their way to her mouth, although no one heard them, due to all the cheering among the spectators.

"Yugi...I know you can win! Keep fighting! I care for you too much to...please...I...you can't give up now!" she said quietly.

While Téa kept up a firm look of determination on her pretty face, Yugi only grimaced. Up until now, Brutus played most of his monsters in attack mode, giving Yugi a good look at what he had to contend with. Yugi knew full well that even the most simple, unassuming card could turn a duel around, but that didn't help him figure out his opponent's strategy. That face-down monster could be anything, but the odds were becoming increasingly high and the risks were anything but minimal, due to what little Life Points he had remaining.

And one more bad move could spell disaster.

-------------------------

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

Hello again, readers! 'Tis I, the author, who hath returned after a very **LONG** hiatus, vacationing in an **alien dimension**, with **_demonic, supernatural phenomena abound!_**

Or I could have just been plain lazy for the past few months. Take your pick.

Anyway, I apologize for not working harder to keep this story updated more frequently, but in the recent weeks, I've been real busy with a lotta personal hardships that I really couldn't avoid. If you want to know anything more than that, start sending in those checks! Heh, heh.

In any event, this story's nearing its end, but I really can't tell you how many more chapters are left, cuz...I don't know! Again, I know I've been saying it more times than I can count, but I'm sorry for not giving you readers more to read. I'm trying to make an effort to speed up the process, but thngs are soooooooo hectic right now! ARGH! But enough about me...time for you readers to check your reviews at the door, and let me assess the damage! 'Til next we meet, keep doing your household chores! I know I've been doing mine! (Not willingly, of course.)


	10. Make a Wish

**Disclaimer: **I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" at all, but I'm beginning to believe that it owns **me** in a sense…

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Make a Wish**

Yugi stared hard at the seemingly innocent sight that plagued his eyes. It wasn't the screaming fans around him closely observing his game of Duel Monsters, nor was it the alarming fact that his birthday present for one of his best friends, Téa Gardner, had been stolen. It was the object below him controlled by his opponent, Brutus.

It was the one large face-down card in defense mode on the playing field.

The additional fact that it was holographic meant nothing to Yugi at the present moment. The only other thing which concerned him most was what monster it was. And although the game he was playing had a massive variety of cards which had the capacity to counter this hidden monster with a lesser amount of risk, Yugi didn't hold any of those given cards in his current hand.

If that weren't enough to add to his plate, he had 450 Life Points left, while Brutus was still in the lead with 850.

_Most of Brutus's monsters have been summoned in attack mode! He's rarely needed to launch a sneak attack like this! I need to plan my next move carefully, or I'll lose the duel! And I'll also lose the present for Téa that I worked so hard to get for her! Now Brutus doesn't have any magic or trap cards on the field, so I don't need to worry about that…but __**my**__ hand doesn't have very strong monsters to attack with!_

"Are you gonna make your move or not!?" Brutus yelled. "You're boring me and all the spectators to **tears!**"

Yugi ignored his opponent's ranting, and studied his hand for another two seconds before making a decision.

_If his hidden monster has a high defensive strength, it could wipe out the rest of my Life Points once I advance upon it! But if I leave it alone, there's a high probability my opponent may unleash that monster on me anyway…so I'll take a chance and attack!_

* * *

"Yugi's hit a wall," Bakura pointed out.

"Whaddya mean?" Tristan asked.

"It's a moot issue to wonder whether Brutus's monster is harmless or not," Mai explained. "I don't know Yugi's opponent at all, but if he has as much sense as the next duelist, I doubt he set a weak monster on the field. It could be **anything** at this point!"

"It doesn't matter in the long run!" a strong female voice stated.

Everyone turned their heads, startled by the sudden exclamation of confidence. Their eyes spotted Téa looking up at the duel in play, who had obviously been the one who spoke just now. Her hands were clasped, held against her chest firmly. Téa's own eyes didn't display any tears and weren't even slightly wavering. Her eyebrows above were turned downwards, not showing anger, but determination.

"I've **always** believed in Yugi!" she said with conviction. "And I know that even in the darkest of situations, he'll make the right decision and **win!**"

* * *

"I summon the Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" Yugi announced.

The monster in question emerged onto the playing field with all the fury it could muster. The blue dragon certainly wasn't large, but it demonstrated its strength as best it could, flapping its wings, whipping its long tail back and forth, and showing off its sharp claws and teeth.

(Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress - 1400/1200)

Yugi pointed towards his target before speaking.

"Winged Dragon, destroy his face-down monster! Fireball Attack!"

The Dragon closed its mouth slowly, and inhaled deeply if it were sucking in lots of air. But its jaws immediately snapped open again, revealing a large fireball waiting to be launched. Yugi's monster roared as it fired its attack at the mystery monster in defense mode. The firey sphere hit its target dead on, causing a small explosion, kicking up a thick cloud of (holographic) smoke. The defensive card broke into pieces, and once the smoke cleared, Yugi (and everyone else) finally got a look at what had been attacked.

Yugi's eyes widened in panic as he saw a grey-colored jar made out of rock appear on the ground, standing upright.

"No!" he cried. "It's a Morphing Jar!"

"That's right!" Brutus agreed, "And that means we both discard our hands and draw five new cards from our decks!"

(Morphing Jar - 700/600)

The jar quicky tipped on its side towards Yugi, balancing itself at (roughly) a 45 degree angle. The inside of the jar looked black, but a single huge eye appeared in the darkness of the container. A black, grotesque monster resembling an eel shot out of the jar at top speed and gave off an ear-piercing screech so nasty that everyone was forced to cover their ears. It rose over Yugi's head, looming at him for only an instant before it exploded.

Both duelists abided by the rules of the destroyed card, sending all cards in hand to their respective Graveyards and then drawing five cards each from their dueling decks.

* * *

"W…what does this mean for Yugi?" Téa wondered out load.

"Well, it could very likely go either way," Bakura theorized.

"How d'ya figure dat, Bakura?" Joey asked, scratching the back of his head.

Bakura began stroking his chin, thinking hard for a moment, and then spoke again with certainty in his voice.

"If Brutus had better cards to use against Yugi, surely he would've played them by now. But since the Morphing Jar requires both players to draw an entriely new hand, we can surmise that it was the only viable option for Brutus to pursue. But Yugi's situation is different. We don't know for sure if he had cards in his previous hand that would've helped him or not. Therefore, getting five new cards may have done more harm than good, effectively foiling any strategy he was going to use."

"Great," Tristan said flatly.

"But don't worry too much, we'll know soon enough," finished Bakura, still as calm as ever.

* * *

Unfortunately, Bakura was right. Yugi's five new cards weren't sufficient enough to do the job.

_Oh, no! None of these cards are strong enough to compete! I don't even have a single magic or trap card to help me!_

The "King of Games" knew this was undoubtedly a major crisis, but he remained stonefaced. This was to insure that Brutus wouldn't be able to read anything into his situation. One can only speculate so far into an emotionless expression. Another reason for this was so that Yugi wouldn't alarm any of the fans cheering for him.

_But I still have my Big Shield Gardna on the field! With 2600 defense points, it should be able to last long enough for me to think up a plan!_

"Well, I have no idea what **you** drew, but fortune smiled upon **me!**"Brutus snarled. "I've been given another opportunity to do some **real** damage!"

"Let's see you back up those words!" Yugi quipped.

"You'll see more than that! I'll recruit a new player to the team! I summon Rigras Leever in attack mode!"

Rising out from the ground was what looked like a wooden marionette with a horrid vertical mouth on the front of its head. In its hand was a weapon that resembled a long spear, although Yugi couldn't really tell **what** it was.

(Rigras Leever - 1600/100)

"Get that loser dragon off the field **now!**"

Brutus's newest monster turned its head towards its corresponding controller, and nodded. With a barely noticeable growl, it leapt at Yugi's monster and impaled its weapon straight through the Winged Dragon's chest, causing it to struggle briefly and roar in pain. Yugi almost turned away at watching his monster suffer, but the torture didn't continue for much longer, as it shattered into bits and pieces.

Yugi gritted his teeth, watching the counter built into his console deplete by 200, leaving his overall score at 250 Life Points.

"I'll end my turn by setting one card face-down! Now **go** already!" Brutus said a commanding voice.

"I will!" Yugi replied, drawing his next card.

The dueling expert grinned before making his next move.

"I play the magic card Pot of Greed! It permits me to draw two new cards and add them to my hand!"

Yugi grinned again, albeit less obvious.

_All right! One trap and one magic card! This gives me an idea! It won't widen my options much, but its the best move I can think of!_

Brutus grinned too, but for a different reason. While his Rigras Leever had only mediocre strength at best, he had a devastating trap card set. One that - in his opinion, at least - had the capacity to finish Yugi off!

But his opponent had other ideas in mind…

"Prepare to watch everything crumble before your eyes, Brutus!" Yugi roared.

"Hm?" was all the taller teen could say.

"Watch…as I play this! **Final Destiny!**"

"What's that!?"

"By discarding five of the six remaining cards in my hand, this powerful magic card destroys everything on the field!"

"**Everything!?**"

"That's right, leaving nothing in its wake but wide open space."

Yugi followed the card's requirements, and tranferred five cards from his hand to the Graveyard. He then slapped down the Final Destiny magic card on the dueling console. The card's effect activated as quickly as a new light bulb could switch on. A huge explosion made it way onto the dueling arena, much larger than any that occured before. The sound it made was extremely louder and the sight was extravagant, nearly matching that of an atomic blast. The resulting mushroom cloud emitted flashes of firey light, while endless amounts of thick smoke filled the playing field, causing both competitors to squeeze their eyes shut and turn their heads away from the mighty blast that the magic card had let loose. Even most of the spectators were forced to do the same.

* * *

"Man! That last move of Yugi's was totally nuts!" Mokuba cried in awe.

"Yep…dat's our Yugi! He really knows how ta put on one heckuva show!" Joey said, stunned.

"I'm almost afraid to see what's next!" Tristan added.

* * *

After the passing of what seemed like agonizingly slow seconds, the smoke cleared. And just as Yugi said, there was nothing left on the field. A fair number of the fans down below in the crowd half-expected the dueling arena to actually appear demolished, but this was not the case. As real as this all may have seemed, the rest of them were forced to remember that all the action that occurred on the field was purely holographic.

"I don't believe it! It's **impossible!**" Brutus went, completely abashed at what (somewhat spontaneously) transpired.

"You can be assured that it's **quite** possible," Yugi said with his arms crossed with only one card left in his hand. "And it's not over yet!"

Yugi brandished the final card in his hand that hadn't been disposed of.

"I'll set this last card face-down and end my turn."

"**Three** can play at that game! So I'll set a trio of cards face-down…and then summon the unstoppable Sengenjin!"

Yugi was astounded and almost gasped when he saw his opponent's latest monster. It was a gigantic, one-eyed blue orge with sharp teeth and pink hair. Gold spiked armor covered its shoulders, with numerous weapons strapped to its back.

(Sengenjin - 2750/2500)

"My beast-warrior has an attack power of 2750! That's enough strength to put down any new team members you try to recruit! The winning trophy is **mine!**"

"I disagree! It's my turn again!"

Yugi's eyes received a year's worth of sightseeing within the course of the next two seconds.

_Great! This card I just drew could definately help me win this match! I just need a way to figure out how to-_

"You may aswell stare at that new card of yours while you still can! Because you're about to lose it!" interrupted Brutus, so to speak.

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Yugi asked.

"Because you triggered a trap card the moment you drew from your deck! It's called Drop Off! Now that card goes directly into your Graveyard!"

The dueling expert grimaced and complied.

"That's one more threat crossed off the list!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"I'm saying that I'm not out of options yet! I still have my face-down card!"

_A lot of faith's riding on this next move…along with a little bit of luck! However, I know that my cards won't let me down!_

For a solid three seconds, the entire audience below went silent as they all witnessed Yugi's mystery card flip itself face-up.

"I activate the trap card…**Reverse of Reverse!**" Yugi announced.

"What the heck is **that?!**"Brutus asked, almost panicking.

"This special trap can only be activated when its controller has no cards in their hand, and none are present on their side of the field **except** for this one! In exchange, I'm permitted to utilize my opponent's face-down cards as if they were my own! And I count two of them!"

"NO!"

_I'm gonna need to rely on my opponent's cards to help me win this! But my faith in the Heart of Cards will triumph over __**all**__ opposition, anytime and anywhere!_

Brutus's two face-down cards flipped up simultaneously. The first was revealed as an easily recognizable magic card and the second was another trap, both of which Yugi could use to his advantage.

"Now, I'll use the power of my Reverse of Reverse trap to activate your cards…Monster Reborn and Jar of Greed!"

Yugi's opponent was at a loss for words, but his rising anger (and the growl it produced) was all that needed to be displayed.

"The magic of Monster Reborn will bring back the card you sent to the Graveyard! Arise, my **Dark Magician!**"

A circular-shaped hole of white light appeared on the floor of the arena. Streams of bright, ferocious energy shot out like lightning bolts. Slowly rising from the hole emerged one of the most powerful (if not **the** most powerful) spellcaster-type monster of Yugi's. The Dark Magician stood proudly in his purple outfit, with a matching headpiece, something of a cross between a wizard's cap and a hood. In one of his hands he held a long green staff, capable of emitting powerful and destructive magic.

(Dark Magician - 2500/2100)

"And thanks to your second face-down card, Jar of Greed, I'm allowed to draw one card from my deck!" Yugi continued.

As before, Yugi only needed one quick glance at the new card in his hand before he decided to make good use of it.

"I'll set this card face-down. Now it's your turn again, although I'd try to be more careful the next time around! Overlooking my face-down card gave me the opportunity to get ahead!" Yugi said in a semi-lecturing tone.

"You speeding ahead past **me?** That's gotta be the joke of the year! My Sengenjin has 250 more attack points than your pitiful sorcerer! Which is also the exact number of Life Points you have left! My beast-warrior will tear 'im in two!" Brutus boasted. "Sengenjin…score **two** for the team!"

The large ogre drew two more heavy, sharp-looking weapons and tossed them at the Dark Magician.

"I don't think so," Yugi calmly said, closing his eyes and smirking.

The Dark Magician held out his green wand and pointed it towards the opposite end of the playing field. It's tip glowed white and gradually generated a white-colored dome of energy and mist around Yugi's monster. The pair of projectiles that had been thrown exploded as soon as they struck the dome surrounding the Dark Magician.

"What happened? My attack was blocked!" Brutus fumed.

"I believe you just answered your own question, for that's precisely what happened!" Yugi confirmed.

"Whatever you're gonna say, make it short!"

"Remember…when I flipped and activated your Jar of Greed trap, I was allowed to draw a single card from my deck! And I was rewarded with was a trap of my own! **Soul Shield!**"

"And how does **that** work?"

"By sacrificing half of my remaining Life Points, this trap card has the power to deflect your attack and protect any monsters on my side of the field! My score may have dropped, but my Dark Magician remains unscathed!"

* * *

"Oh, yeah! **Who's** the man?" boasted Tristan.

"Jus' call 'im Mistah **Stonewall**, heh heh!" added Joey.

While the two boys radiated their usual amount of enthusiasm, a third male teenager kept a level head about the facts concerning the duel.

"One moment, let's not be hasty," Bakura said with caution. "Yugi may have hindered his opponent's efforts, but that's doesn't necessarily mean it's over."

"Yeah…Yugi only has 125 Life Points left," Téa agreed.

"That's right," continued Bakura. "He may still have a ways to go yet."

* * *

"It's my move!" Yugi said.

"Which is worth **squat**, I'm sure!" Brutus sniped. "You don't have any cards in your hand! Which means that your monster's **rat bait** next turn!"

Yugi swiftly drew the top card off of his deck, and from that moment, his face changed to an expression of wonder and positive reinforcement. The teenager couldn't have turned off his display of emotion even if the entire world told him to do so. Yugi thought hard about how this card had seemingly ""sneaked"" itself into his deck. He knew he had obtained some new cards not too long ago, but-

Immediately a brief, but recent memory popped into his mind…

* * *

_Téa pulled up a seat at Yugi's desk and took a look at a small pile of Duel Monsters cards that Yugi had spread out on his desk, some of which she hadn't seen previously._

_"I see you've acquired some new cards recently!" Téa noted._

_"Yep, I got 'em a little while back. My deck will be even stronger than before when I combine them with my other cards!" Yugi happily replied._

_"Face the facts, Yugi…Duel Monsters is your life! Not that there's anything really wrong with it, though!"_

_

* * *

_

How could I have overlooked it? I should've remembered all of the new additions to my deck…

Yugi realized that he had been carefully looking over each of his cards right before Téa showed up. He had become so preoccupied talking to her that he had absent-mindedly completed the improvements to his deck, giving little thought as to the ramifications of such an action, or what particular cards in his deck had been changed.

_Of course! That day I chatted with Téa in school when Brutus arrived…in all the confusion, I'd completely forgotten about this card! But it doesn't matter right now! My next move will increase my chances of winning exponentially!_

"Stop stalling!" Brutus impatiently snapped.

"I'm not stalling," Yugi replied, now smiling slightly. "This single card will bring one step closer to victory!"

"And that card would be…?"

"I'm glad you asked, because I have absolutely no doubt you'll recognize it! I activiate the Card of Sanctity!"

Everyone (save Yugi) let a quick gasp - either small, loud, meek, or large - escape their mouth.

"And with this magic card in play, I'm permitted to draw additional cards from my deck until I have a total of six!"

Brutus knew full well that the card let him draw too, but…the boot was on the other foot now. Yugi's hand was previously empty, and he now indeed had a fair number of options to consider…six, to be exact.

After drawing his last card, Yugi didn't waste any time in using his new hand to put down the opposing monster.

"I'll play this…the Book of Secret Arts!" Yugi stated, holding up his newly drawn card at top speed.

Yugi's opponent just shot him a nasty glare, accurately knowing that there was a high probability that he'd hate what would happen next.

"That Sengenjin may possess overwhelming strength, but the Book of Secret Arts has the capacity to increase a spellcaster's stats by 300! Which gives my Dark Magician the necessary might to slay your monster!"

Yugi's monster stretched out its arms as its body glowed green for a moment, as its power grew to 2800!

"Go, Dark Magician! Destroy his monster **now!**"

The mage quickly twirled its long green staff like a baton, and pointed it at Sengenjin. A huge bolt of energy shot out of the wand's tip and blasted Brutus's monster, vaporizing it on the spot.

To say that Brutus was less than pleased by this sharp turn of events would have been a **severe** understatement. He may have only lost 50 Life Points, but it was the principle of the matter that he was concerned with.

"Your Sengenjin has been demolished!" Yugi pointed out, though he hardly needed to do so.

_Finally! Now that my Dark Magician has made his appearance on the field, I'll be able to end this duel at last!_

"You may have taken down my last monster, but my score is still higher than yours!" Brutus noted.

"Not for long!" Yugi retorted.

Brutus growled as Yugi's monster provided more irritation, grinning and wagging its finger at him.

"The Dark Magician is one of my most sacred and trusted monsters! And combined with the power bonus I've provided him, as well as the new set of cards in my hand, the two of us will prevail against you! So beware…this duel is nearing its **end!**"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

Boy, this match has everyone on edge! I hope you've enjoyed this particular duel, as well as this story, especially since its finally setting the stage for the big finish! The next segment (which is already in production) may very well be the last chapter! (But **don't** quote me on that.) So if you wanna read it, make sure to drop your opinions by me! The duel will end, and Téa will finally see just what Yugi got for her birthday! Most (if not all) of the loose ends will be tied up, so I beg you to stay tuned for the upcoming finale! See you soon!


	11. Surprise Reprise

**Disclaimer: **Boy, if I owned "Yu-Gi-Oh!" that would be neat! Really, oh-so fantasterastic! Golly gosh darn, what a thought! Jeepers creepers, if only...

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

-------------------------

**Chapter 11 - Surprise Reprise**

Yugi Moto grinned, confidently (and calmly) crossing his arms while his opponent desperately tried to conjure up a winning strategy. Amidst the abundant action, as well as the cheering fans and admirers, there was a group of six people who felt proud to call themselves friends to the "King of Games."

Joey, Mokuba, Tristan, Mai, Bakura and (especially) Téa knew full well that Yugi possessed an amazing ability to bounce back when the chips were down and take control of a dire and seemingly hopeless situation. A talent such as his never failed to impress. It was a phenomenon that his friends had been privileged to witness time and again, and they were eternally grateful that they were present to watch this fight to the end.

The victor would be obvious.

"I'd suggest surrendering here and now, Brutus!" Yugi offered. "Our exchange of attacks may have been fierce, but that doesn't mean we can't end this peacefully!"

The teenager's words and intents were eloquent and noble, but it was very doubtful that his adversary would comply with his request. Still, a single attempt at a harmonious resolution was worth a shot.

"Save your breath!" Brutus hollered. "My team of monsters have practically gone the whole nine yards, and I've got others who're ready to run **another** nine!"

Yugi just put on his constant "stare n' glare" routine and said nothing.

"Not to mention that the scoreboard's in my favor! I still got 800 Life Points left while you're down to a measly 125! Think you can keep up?"

"I may be down, but I'm not out! My Dark Magician will end this conflict once and for all!"

"Yeah, **right!** My next batch of cards are tough enough to take you **and** your stupid magician down!"

"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you!"

"Well, then it's a good thing you **ain't! **The ball's literally in my court! Mega Thunderball in defense mode!"

Yugi and everyone else paying close attention to the match weren't very impressed at the monster newly summoned by Brutus. It was a green and blue-colored spiked sphere, roughly about the size of a basketball. A small circular light atop the monster flashed red. Immediately the spikes let loose bolts of electricity which continuously let out a relentless crackling sound.

(Mega Thunderball - 750/600)

"Your Thunderball's defense power doesn't begin to compare to the attack of **my** monster!" Yugi said.

Both duelists were all too aware of the monster's low stats. But Yugi, as usual, was thinking more than one move ahead.

_That Mega Thunderball is a weak monster...and Brutus didn't lay down any magic or trap cards! He's just waiting until a stronger card makes its way into his hand...still, I can't let up! I've finally gotten control of this duel, and allowing my opponent to take it away again is out of the question!_

"Dark Magician...attack now!" Yugi commanded, pointing at the magician's holographic enemy.

The spellcaster pointed its fist at the Mega Thunderball. As soon as its hand opened up, revealing a terrific beam of light that shot out and struck its target dead on. Brutus had to close his eyes and turn away briefly from the resulting blast.

"That last monster of yours was an assured failure!" Yugi promptly noted.

Brutus didn't respond until he drew his next card. At first glance, his face hadn't changed its expression, but Yugi could've swore he saw a flicker of light in his opponent's eyes, similar to the way lightning briefly blazes across a dark sky. It was an instantaneous reaction.

Yugi's glare only tightened, readying itself for anything.

"Next I'll set one card face-down! Now...are there any other foolish stunts that you wish to attempt?" added Yugi.

"Matter of fact, there is!" Brutus said in an eerie calm voice. "You and your monsters better make way for my most strongest power forward **ever! **Stand back to witness the limitless strength and the ultimate unstoppable force of..."

There was a short pause as the boasting duelist slammed the said card on the red console before him.

"...the **Cosmo Queen!!!**"

-------------------------

"Yo, I neva heard a' such a card! What's that doofus jabberin' about **now?**" Joey asked, somewhat impatiently.

"It sounds like something out of a third-rate science-fiction movie!" Mai declared.

"There's no need for guessing..." Téa panicked, "...because whatever Brutus summoned is already here! Look!"

-------------------------

Yugi, his friends, and the entirety of the surrounding crowd gasped as this newest monster made its (more than) grand appearance on the playing field. Instead of a small, quaint, and glittery "light show" display, a gigantic and lingering flare of light - like the flash from a huge camera - temporarily blinded all.

The two duelists, Brutus and Yugi, were the first to get a good look at the creature's grandiose entrance. Not even waiting for the light to clear, the ground below it - albeit not even "real" - ruptured. Loud explosions were seen and heard, kicking upa thick cloud of smoke, which doubled as a concealment for the monster displayed on the card.

As the numerous spectators began to slowly open their eyes, all they could see was a black, tall silhouette rising up through the smoke. Yugi froze in place for a moment as the fearful glow of two cold red eyes pierced through the dense fumes which surrounded it, making eye contect with him. Had anyone made a closer observation, it might have been noticed that the Dark Magician was wearing the same semi-intimidated expression as its corresponding partner.

Finally the light dissipated and the foggy mess cleared, unveiling the monster's physical aspects to all for the first time. Brutus had good (enough) reason to be confident. His new monster was more than three times the height and mass of Yugi's Dark Magician. Most of its body was covered by a red and black striped cloak and its skin was an eerie purple. Living up to the card's name, atop the monster's head was a gigantic gold crown; its style and configuraton appeared (almost) alien in nature. The creature looked frightening, with its dark prescence amplified by its height and the fact that it eyes were shrouded in shadow. The monster's entire body was generating an aura of immense energy, capable of doing much damage to whatever it struck.

(Cosmo Queen - 2900/2450)

"As I'm sure you can see..." Brutus noted, "...this baby can pound your loser monster all the way to Snoozetown for a nice solid ten-count!"

"That may be so, but my trap Threatening Roar will protect my mage!" Yugi proclaimed.

While the Dark Magician stood in place, a transparent floating head of a beast (which bore a striking resemblance to that of a lion) appeared in front of it, acting as a shield of some sort. The beast's head let out a ferocious roar that echoed throughout the building, causing all of the onlookers to cover their ears. The soundwaves emitted from the beast's mouth were actually visible, and the Cosmo Queen immediately stopped moving.

"What **happened?!**" Brutus stammered.

"That trap card of mine forbids you from attacking me for the duration of the turn!" Yugi explained.

"Like I care! I'm still gonna kick your butt hard and fast! I'll play a card face-down, too! Now, let's see if you can't jump this little hurdle of mine!"

Yugi wasn't sure if Brutus was referring to the Cosmo Queen or his set card, but either way, it would've been prudent to proceed with more caution than before. Yugi's grin, however, resurfaced when he drew his next card.

"You accused my monster of being a loser, but it's high time I proved you wrong! This magic card in my possession will change all that!"

"That so?"

"It is! The Banner of Courage spell gives all of my monsters 200 extra attack points whenever they go on the offense!"

Brutus said nothing and just watched in (slight) surprise as the Dark Magician's power grew to a stunning **3000!**

"As I'm sure you can see, my mage now has the necessary strength to do away with your so-called 'unstoppable' Queen! Attack!"

Yugi's monster was now radiating with increased power at its fingertips. Leaping into the air, it used its staff like a sword and slammed the weapon into the Cosmo Queen's side. The larger monster screamed in pain, as it was virtually slashed in half before it completely vanished from the arena.

"Now that your monster's been properly disposed of, I'll set one card face-down and end my turn!" Yugi stated confidently.

"My score may have been beaten down to 700, but yours is just an inch away from **zilch!**" Brutus taunted.

Yugi grimaced as his opponent turned over (and held up) the face-down card that he had previously set in the Magic/Trap Card Zone.

"And by the way..." Brutus added, "...my Cosmo Queen wouldn't abdicate her throne so quickly! Thanks to this Rebirth Tablet trap, all I need to do is ditch one monster card from my Graveyard and my Queen's gonna bring about a most painful execution to your disobedient magician!"

As soon as Brutus removed a monster from his Graveyard, his trap did indeed activate. What followed was a rumbling sensation that rocked the entire dueling arena. It was apparent that the holographic technology, which contributed so much to this extravagant ordeal, would show off another of its impressive displays again.

Accompanying the constant shaking was a crevice that opened on the playing field, growing and expanding at an incredibe rate. Dirt and dust accumulated as Brutus's monster slowly rose from the ground until it was as high as it had been before, looming over the Dark Magician.

"Now..." Brutus said, "...I think that spellcaster of yours has worn out its welcome, don't you?"

"Not yet!" Yugi growled.

"Sorry, I disagree! Proper etiquette demands that the guest remove itself from the scene before her Highness gets angry! And if your monster can't do **that**..."

A white glowing sphere of light appeared in between the Cosmo Queen hands, similar to the way a fortune teller would cradle a crystal ball. Thin crackling bolts of lighting emanated from the Queen's fingertips, continuously and unstoppably charging the gleaming orb which was now rapidly expanding in mass.

By the time it finished charging, the sphere was slightly bigger than the size of a medicine ball.

That is to say, a medicine ball utilized by a gigantic monster sized more than ten feet tall.

-------------------------

The onlookers abound watched the huge creature ready its imminent assault, with many of them doing as best they could to hide the genuine fear in their eyes.

Whether this assemblage of fright was in anticipation of the Cosmo's Queen's attack, or concern for Yugi's prospects for victory was anybody's guess. But the atmosphere was the same everywhere you looked, outward expressions alike plastered onto the face of every single person in this massive group, including one Joey Wheeler.

The blonde teenager got on his knees and covered his head.

"Um...Joey, **what** are you doing?" Mai asked.

"N...nothin'...j-just checkin' ta make sure all da bugs on th' floor ain't gettin' squished by dis here crowd!" Joey stammered.

"Uh-**HUH**..."

Mai decided not to waste anymore time with Joey's behavior and turned her attention back to the duel.

-------------------------

"Cosmo Queen, put that mage out of commission for **GOOD!**" Brutus ordered.

The monster moved its arms foward, launching the glowing, swirling ball of destructive power from its hands and towards the only destination in mind...the Dark Magician.

The purple-cloaked wizard shut its eyes and turned its head away, doing as best it could to brace for the inevitable impact.

"**NO!**" Yugi cried.

Everyone found themselves covering their ears again as the devastating blast shook the area. As soon as it hit, the sound of the explosion was coupled with the sound of a teenager's nasty laughing which echoed through the air. The Cosmo Queen's onsluaght vaporized Yugi's monster then and there, in a brilliant blaze of fire and light. Dark smoke and a small crater was all that remained in place of where the Queen's opponent was standing.

Heaps of gasps rang out as the smokescreen dispersed. Most of the deep inhaling (or exhaling) originated from those who were still in awe of what had just transpired. But a small fraction of those breaths belonged to the people who saw Yugi's face. In spite of the dire perils, he remained perfectly still with his arms crossed. There was no smiling or frowning on his face, either. The only remainder was an air of neutrality that strangly managed to inspire assurance everywhere.

"Guess we found out which mage had the superior moves on the field, Yugi! Looks like yours had to be pulled from the game on account of being **terminable!**" Brutus announced, attempting to emotionally slam his opponent.

"I believe there's a difference of opinion here!" Yugi pointed out. "This duel has gone on long enough, and it's my aim to take you down **now!**"

"Big words from a short dude who just lost his **best** monster! You and your team of losers aren't even fit for pee-wee dueling!"

"It's still much to early to gloat! I always save my best moves for last!"

"I'm **so** sure!"

Yugi looked down at his side of the field. His face-down card that he had planted there not too long ago still remained. It wasn't a card that would win the duel quickly, but it had been set with the intent of its usage providing a solid catalyst for putting a chain of events in motion.

It was a chain of events which only yeilded one soultion...triumph.

Brutus yelled, bringing his opponent's mental state back to the real world.

"If you really have anything even remotely interesting to offer this crowd, let's see it!"

Yugi's mouth curled into the smallest smirk before answering.

"And so you shall..."

-------------------------

**TO BE CONT**-

Ah, forget it! You know how the routine goes by now! You read, you review, then I provide the last chapter! Oops, I'm sorry...did i utter the word "last" and not "next", by any chance? Hold the phone, I believe I **did!** Yes, that's right...sadly, the next installment will be the **last** one! I hope all of you are still around when it hits the shelves (so to speak)! Well, what're you waiting for? Go on! Review! **GIT!**


	12. No Contest

**Disclaimer: **Man alive, I **still **don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!"...I mean, **really!** Can you believe that?! Whatta joke! Boy, you'd think we'd see some change in that disclaimer's policy by **now**, people...!

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

-------------------------

**Chapter 12 - No Contest**

"Ah, man!" Joey (almost) whined. "Without his mage ta bail him out, Yugi's burnt toast!"

"Don't say that, Joey!" Téa argued. "Yugi will **still** win! He always does!"

Had Joey been looking at Téa more closely, he would've seen that she had a look of determination in her eyes that reused to budge even one iota. Téa also had another subconscious sensation burning inside her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Part of her wanted to investigate the matter further, but the intrusion of Tristan's voice pulled her mind back into the present situation.

"That Brutus must have cheated or **somethin'!**" Tristan angrily declared. "Wasn't the Dark Magcian loaded with 3000 attack points?!"

"Not so," assured a soft voice.

Tristan and Joey looked over to Bakura, who usually spoke up to offer a short explanation when details of a duel got confusing.

"The Dark Magician only weilded that much power because Yugi's Banner of Courage magic card was in play...but its effect is only activated when his monsters go on the attack! Until the next turn, his mage's strength would've reverted to whatever it was before! And from there on, it only gets worse!"

Mai turned to the trio of boys to speak her mind.

"I'm afraid Bakura's right," she agreed. "Yugi's down to a mere 25 Life Points-"

"Say **WHAT!?!**" Joey bellowed, shocked beyond belief.

Téa, Mokuba, and Tristan turned their attention to the tall blonde girl, to reluctantly bear whatever additional bad news she had to report.

"That huge Cosmo Queen has an attack strength of 2900! Thankfully, Yugi managed to power his Dark Magician to 2800 before it was destroyed...but if he hadn't..."

"He would have lost the duel **then!**" Mokuba realized.

Téa wanted to speak, but she had a feeling that any lousy two cents added to the truckload of debating might become the catalyst for an even more heated argument. There was already a huge cache of mixed emotions passing through each of Yugi's trusted companions. The only alternative was to go back to watching the action happening in the dueling arena.

-------------------------

Yugi's hand reached for the face-down card that he'd previously set. It was time to activate it. Athough he lost his Dark Magician, his confidence hadn't shook. But he could see that this clearly wasn't the case down below, regarding the behavior he noticed in his friends.

Except for Téa.

She looked upward and locked eyes with Yugi, and the pair virtually communicated through their display of facial expressions. Téa maintained her courageous and solid stare of fearlessness. She smiled and nodded to Yugi, who quickly nodded back.

The blue dueling console he stood at glowed as his face-down card was flipped over to reveal its power.

"I'm activating my Ground Erosion trap! This card won't destroy your monster, but it **will** cause the surface under it to decay!"

Before Yugi completed his last sentence, everyone watched as a small opening in the ground appeared. The Cosmo Queen began to sink into the chasm, going down as far as its knees.

"As a result, with every turn that passes your monster will lose 500 attack points!" Yugi announced.

"Jeez! You're sure going all out for that pathetic girfriend of yours! All this just to get her present back?!" asked Brutus.

"Téa is a wonderful girl, treasured ally, and one of my closest friends! A kind and noble soul such as hers deserves nothing but the **highest** regrard!"

-------------------------

The birthday girl's thoughts immediately went dead as she heard what came out of her friend's mouth. Téa was in a state of shock and was dead silent. Her eyes widened more than they ever had before, and her face emitted an intense blush. It almost looked as if it were glowing...

...and not in the "good" way.

But what really made her go mute was the realization that Yugi had blurted such a thing out loud.

In a public place where **everyone** could hear him with no problem.

All of her friends - especially Mai - shot her a strange look.

"Umm...Téa, are you okay?" Mai inquired, slightly concerned.

The only response was a very loud and noticeable gulp.

Yugi, being the pure and good individual he was, continued his onslaught of compliments.

"Your monster's a queen only by title! Téa's the only one who's **truly** worthy of a label like that! The present you stole represents a special bond that ties my fate with hers!"

-------------------------

By now Téa was shaking and her cheeks were burning with crazed embarrassment. Her profusly sweating face was beet red.

"Are you feeling all right, Téa?" Mokuba asked.

The said girl couldn't hear a single thing her friends were saying.

"O...okay, Yugi...y-you can **sh-shut up** now..." she stuttered.

"I think I was right about Yugi..." Mai said, grinning.

The tall blonde continued to speak, albeit more to herself than anyone who was listening. "He really **does** know how to lay on the charm."

Hunching, Téa hurriedly took off her jean jacket and put it over her entire head so **no one** could see her blushing face.

-------------------------

"Enough is **ENOUGH!**" Brutus snarled. "You could lob your stupid protests at me until the end of time, and it wouldn't change a stinking thing!"

"Oh, really?" questioned Yugi.

"Really! I'm still sitting pretty with a high enough score! And you've got about a sliver's worth of Life Points left!"

"This battle will continue onward until someone's score drops to **zero! **And I can ensure you that it **won't** be mine!"

"Yeah, **RIGHT!**"

Yugi's smile contrinued to persist and he drew another card. He didn't utter one syllable as he calmly set it down on the console before him.

"So, you're setting something in defense? Fine by me! My monster won't even hafta work up a sweat to take it out!"

Upon giving the order to attack, the Cosmo Queen readied another powerful energy sphere between its palms and launched it without hesitation. Yugi's hidden monster appeared only when the attack was mere centimeters away.

The spectators barely had enough time to witness a small, round, three-eyed, hairy fiend get blasted to smithereens. The roar of the resulting explosion canceled out its feeble cry of pain as it vanished from the field as quickly as it entered.

(Sangan - 1000/600)

"Just another loser monster who couldn't make the cut!" Brutus pointed out with an obnoxious snicker.

"Boast all you like," Yugi replied, "My Sangan may have been wiped out, but its function is crucial to ending this duel! But first things first! My Ground Erosion trap is still active, which means your monster loses 500 ATK points!"

Indeed, the Cosmo Queen felt the effects of Yugi's trap card. The huge spellcaster sunk even further into the ground. Now waist-deep, its attack strength dropped to 2400.

"Next..." Yugi continued, "...Sangan's effect lets me to pick a monster card from my deck with less than 1500 attack points! And I choose **this** one! **Watapon**, come forth!"

Yugi held up a card, its picture surprising all.

"Surprising" meaning no one in their right mind (save Yugi) would've ever believed that the duel could be won with the monster in question.

The picture on the card depicted what looked like a tiny powder puff with huge blue eyes and a pair of antennas atop its cranium. (Or body depending on how one perceived the creature.)

(Watapon - 200/300)

"My monster's special ability lets me summon it to the field whenever it comes to my hand through a card's effect!"

Many of the girls in the crowd started squealing and gawking at the pale pink fairy-type being now in play. Yugi's friends, however, were doubting a positive outcome.

-------------------------

"Has Yugi totally lost it?!" Mokuba cried.

"His monster only has 200 attack points!" Tristan agreed. "Yugi's gotta be off his rocker, playing something like that!"

"Nah, betcha our Yugi's gonna wrap dis up here and now!" Joey cheered. "GO GET 'IM, PAL!"

Téa, who had (at last) regained her composure, watch Yugi from afar. Her friend had that usual calm, yet determined expression on display.

_Oh, Yugi...what's going on in that head of yours? And...did you really mean what you said back there, or was it just something spontaneous that came out in the heat of the moment? What __**are**__ you thinking about?_

-------------------------

"It's my turn again," Yugi said he drew his next card.

Everyone was silent as Yugi looked at his card carefully, while planning a winning strategy at the same time. The next sound to echo through the building was Yugi's brief chuckle.

"What **now?!**" Brutus growled.

"It's over...this next card of mine spells the end for you!"

"NO WAY!"

"Observe! First I'll discard this De-Fusion card from my hand to activate Double Spell! In effect, I can now use a magic card from **your** graveyard!"

Brutus gasped, as did the audience.

"I'll use your discarded Monster Reborn to call upon the Dark Magician once again!"

An erruption of light permeated the playing field. In a quick flash, the strong and proud purple-robed mage graced the spectators with another grand entrance.

"And now I'll play the card I just drew...**Opti-Camouflage Armor!** This magical armor can only be used in combination with extremely low-level monsters like my Watapon!"

Yugi's smaller monster began to glow white. Once the aura of light died down, everybody saw that the creature was now transparent. Watapon looked like it was made of glass!

"So your fairy pulled a semi-disappearing act! Is that supposed to **impress** me?" asked Brutus.

"Hardly," Yugi cooly replied. "But before Watapon makes its move, my Dark Magician has a score to settle with your Cosmo Queen! For as you'll see, Ground Erosion has weakened your spellcaster enough to leave it vulnerable to an attack from my mage! And since my Banner of Courage spell has remained intact, his strength increases to 2700!"

Brutus could only grimace as he watched the Dark Magician leap into the air and raise its staff...

"Now, my monster...**DARK MAGIC ATTACK!!**"

A ray of pulsing energy shot out of the mage's staff and struck the Cosmo Queen instantly. Brutus's monster cried out in pain and immediately exploded, kicking up large clouds of smoke. When everything cleared, the Dark Magician stood proudly with a smirk on its face similar to the one Yugi would usually brandish. Watapon happily floated over to its spellcaster ally and rested on his left shoulder.

Both duelists gazed at the scoreboard. Yugi was still holding on with 25 Life Points, while his opponent (who was now gritting and grinding his teeth due to the loss of his monster) had lost 300.

"Your Cosmo Queen has been done away with!" Yugi stated. "And now, Watapon will mark the final chapter of this fight!"

"How?!?" Brutus asked in a demanding tone.

"Just as the Banner of Courage strengthened my mage, it will now do the same for my other monster! Watapon's attack has now been doubled to 400! Which is exactly how many Life Points you have left!"

"You're forgetting that the Cosmo Queen was the only monster of mine in play! So it doesn't matter whether your puffball has 400 attack points or **4000!** There's nothing to attack!"

"Not so! **You're** forgetting that my monster is equipped with the Opti-Camouflage Armor! And just as your Ultimate Baseball Kid utilized its abilites to attack my Life Points directly, this magical armor enables my Watapon to do the same!"

To count the number of times the audience "ooh-ed" and "aah-ed" would have been a futile feat. Nevertheless, all who were present repeatedly used such words and phrases like they were going out of style.

As did Brutus.

"**NO!**" he cried in utter horror, knowing full well that it was **all** over. Any prospects for victory were nil.

"Watapon...attack his Life Points **NOW!**" Yugi commanded.

With a short and single high-pitched "roar" from Yugi's creature, the floating fairy squeezed its eyes shut and began vibrating at an incredible rate. At the same time, tiny bolts of electricity were generating between its antennas. Watapon then rotated its body about ninety dregrees downward so the (now) dangerous antennas were pointing at a giant target...

Which was the dueling console Brutus was stationed at.

"**STOP!!** DON'T-" Brutus screamed.

But before the duelist could get another syllable out of his mouth, the deed had been done. Anger and determination (which seemed to be more or less on par with Yugi's) flowed through Watapon's eyes while firing its energy bolt without hesitation or mercy. The attack struck the red console and its user, who received a less than pleasant electric shock. Holding his arms up to shield his face out of instinct (and impractical defense), the bullying teenager cried out in horror and pain, due to the fact that these holographic monsters (and their respective attacks) were meant to be percieved as realistic as possible.

He opened his eyes to the point where they were squinting...just in time to see the score - more specifically **his** score - drop to a well deserved **0!**

"It...it's impossible...! **How** could...I mean, you...just..." Brutus stammered.

It came as no surprise to anyone that he was at a loss for words. Yugi, on the other hand, did. Folding his arms and and curling his lips into a smile, he calmly spoke of what was already made clear to all...

"This duel is over...I **win.**"

-------------------------

**TO BE CONTINUED... (WELL, DUH.)**

Oh, me...oh, my. I'm dreadfully sorry that I didn't finish the story yet! I know I promised that this chapter would close the case, but...

Truth be told, this fic was indeed near completion, but late in the game I discovered that I was cramming too much info into this segment. So rather than risk posting a really **long **chapter which might seem rushed, I split them into two! But as I'm sure you can see...the duel is **finally** finished! So why don't we all just take a break, forget about this horrible story and go on vacation or something?

Nah, just messin' with ya. I'll have the last chapter posted up soon, so just be patient.

Later.


	13. Star Cross'd Friendship

**Disclaimer: **Well, after all that's been said and done, **this is it!** It's the last leg of this here fanfic and I'm tired! I won't bore anyone with needless details, so let's get on with it! But first things first...as usual, I don't "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or anything associated with it...which includes any of the rights pertaining to the trading card game, the trading cards themselves, manga, television rights, video games, the movie, related characters, official copyrighted logos and/or trademarks...hmm, come to think of it, there are quite a number of things I **don't** own! JUST to be on the safe side, for fear of being accused of plagiarism or stealing anything from anyone, I'd better make a list! This **could** take a while...

Okay, let's see here...I don't own...each blade of grass on my front lawn, that scooter my neighbor across the street uses, a lava lamp, all cars and trucks that pass me by, the rocks embedded in the Grand Canyon, the stars and planets in the sky, that phone booth at the end of town, every living, creepy thing that goes "BUMP!" in the night, that cheep, metallic, smiley-faced ring I found on the ground a few years back, the Eifel Tower, the Care Bears movie, an old-fashioned $50 bill, all calenders celebrating the year of 1983, a stray basketball I saw in the middle of the road, a yellow towel, a private jet, every single Lego known to man...

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle**

-------------------------

**Chapter 13 - Star-Cross'd Friendship**

Similar to the sound of a gigantic wave crashing against the shore of a beach, the audience watching the end of a Duel Monsters match inside the new-christened "Millennium Arcade" roared with exuberant applause, admiration and praise.

And rightly so.

Yugi Moto had just scored himself an impressive win against (somewhat) considerable odds, and reminded all (who had by chance forgotten) that he was indeed the "King of Games." Six individuals down below (proud to call themselves friends of the said duelist) would curse themselves if they had. The dueling arena deactivated, causing his corresponding holographic monsters to vanish from sight. As soon as it was all over, the reaction for all was pandimonium.

The defeated opponent, Brutus Malone, was filled with and near-infinite supply of rage, frustration and anger, which amplified in response to Yugi's commanding voice.

"Now...since this duel is over, I trust you'll return the item you stole from me!" Yugi ordered.

"Item? What's Yugi talking about?" Mokuba wondered out loud.

The word "item" lit up a thought in Téa's mind. Brutus had mentioned it before, but Téa had been focusing more on the action that had transpired at the time.

_Wait a minute! Is that what this entire's duel's been about? Could that "item" actually be my... _

Téa became lost in thought as she pondered her suspicions over and over. Had she opened up her ears a few seconds longer, those suspicions would've been confirmed.

"That trust of yours is majorly misplaced! I could care less about any stupid promise!"

"A deal is a deal, and I expect you to keep it! Hand Téa's present over **now!**"

"Don't you **EVER** order me around! This cheap trinket is as good as lost!"

As soon as Brutus stopped talking, he raised the wrapped present above his head ready to send it sailing into the hard tile floor below. Téa quickly gasped when she saw it.

Yugi's eyes flickered like a quick burst of flame as he watched was his opponent was trying to do. Granted, Yugi knew full well that there wasn't anything inside the wrapped box that could've broken easily (at least not to his knowledge), but why take the chance? It was all too clear that there was no way Brutus could've been talked out of his actions, much less his attitude. And the fact that Yugi was all the way on the other side of the arena only signified that he was in no position to stop him.

Not yet, anyway.

Regrettably, only one solution was possible.

As before, Yugi's rage rose to high levels and the Millennium Item around his neck began to glow. Even more so when Brutus spoke again.

"Say **goodbye** to this piece of-"

"That's **enough**, Brutus!"

Through the incredible and powerful magic of the Millennium Puzzle, time froze everywhere for an instant, leaving all the spectators oblivious to what would happen next. Only in the vicinity of the playing field (and its consoles) occupied by the two duelists remained unaffected. The sight of color and state of the mind became greatly distorted for one of the two competitors.

Before Brutus had the time to question what was happening, Yugi rose his left hand and shouted...

"**MIND CRUSH!**"

Yugi's opponent felt stange inwardly, and froze along with everything else. His face bore no expression, but his insides felt like they were tearing themselves apart. Then, all of a sudden, his entire body shook, as if a small explosion took place from within. Brutus let out a short gasp, and could swear that he heard the eerie sound of glass shattering somewhere. Immediately, the distorted atmosphere began to dissipate; the faces of people were reappearing before his eyes and the whereabouts of his location was once again within sight. The once proud althete had briefly feared that he'd gone insane, but now realized that he had one solid second of complete and absolute clarity in his head. But before he got the chance to analyze it further or even allow his eyes to bathe in the reality that was made comprehensible to him again, an unexplainable amount of fatigue took over.

Brutus Malone promptly lost consciousness and collasped.

The dueling consoles automatically lowered themselves simultaneously. As the red console decreased it revealed a teenager who had apparently blacked out. The blue console exhibited the "King of Games" who stood proudly, smiling. Yugi walked over to the otherside of the arena where his comatose adversary lay. His eyes, however, were not foucsed on his fallen foe, but more on the small wrapped box in his hand.

"Ah, there it is," Yugi said, reaching for Téa stolen present. "**I'll** take that."

After a minute or two of squeezing past the crowd, Yugi's six friends made it through and ran over to congradulate the young duelist personally. His treasured Millennium Puzzle gave off a quick (gold) flash, unseen by all except for the individual wearing it.

"**Man**, Yuge!" Joey said, unable to contain his excitement. "Dat was a totally fantasterastic fight!"

Yugi turned his head to respond. Téa was the first to notice that her friend didn't appear to have that tough, determined, grim look on his face that (usually) displayed itself whenever he dueled.

"Thanks, Joey!" Yugi happily replied, turning his head

Yugi quickly slipped Téa's gift into his pocket. The birthday girl, however, did catch a glimpse of it, and she now had one more reason to keep smiling.

"Get 'im **outta** here!" yelled a voice from not too far away.

A trio of employees gathered around Yugi's (unconscious) adversary, and began to drag him off. Yugi recognized the employee giving the orders. He was the same one Brutus threatened in order to sneak himself and Yugi into the building.

The young duelist smiled and lightly chuckled, somewhat glad to see that he had apparently grown a backbone in the last few minutes.

Now that the immediate crisis had ended, Yugi stole a glance and saw Téa's smile, reminding him that he had to make amends for far more important matters.

-------------------------

The next few hours passed without incident. The group of friends, save Mokuba (who went back to his duties inspecting the arcade's operations), had a great time playing various games and sports that the arcade offered. The act of simply spending time with each other radiated a sense of warmth and a special variety of friendship that flows smoothly through the beings of few others.

Yugi and his friends ended up staying at the arcade until the hangout neared its closing time. Mokuba left around the same time as they did, but not before getting feedback of the place's overall enjoyment from many of the customers.

"So, guys...whatcha think?" Mokuba asked.

"I gotta say...great place, Mokuba!" Yugi exclaimed, giving him a thumb's-up.

"Totally!" Téa excitedly agreed.

"Hate to admit it, but I think it's safe to say that Kaiba really outdid himself with a joint as huge as this!" Tristan noted.

Joey, Bakura, and Mai said nothing but all nodded cheerfully (and simultaneously).

"Glad you all liked it!" Mokuba said. "Well, I should be getting back. Seto's up to his ears in work! He **is** a busy man, y'know!"

"Yeah? With **what?**" Joey skeptically inquired. "Mistah Megabucks probably has **zillions** a' people to do all his work for him!"

Mokuba crossed his arms and shot Joey a slightly annoyed look before answering.

"That's not exactly how it works, Joey. My big bro **does** have workers who handle the bulk of our operations, but Seto's the one who **really** comes up with the big ideas. He personally oversees the vital points of all projects, and always takes full responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"Projects? What kinda projects?"

"Well...for one thing, he's making absolutely sure that his upcoming 'Battle City Tournament' will go according to plan-"

"Battle **whoozits?!**"

Joey couldn't help but interrupt. But then, a name like that would most likely grab anyone's attention. Mokuba didn't seem to notice Joey's outburst and continued to talk.

"And then there's his long-range plans to build the prestigous 'Duel Academy'...so even if my brother-"

"Duel **AH-KAH-WHAT!?!**"

That time Mokuba did hear Joey, albeit a little **too** well.

"Oops...I think I've already said too much..." Mokuba semi-nervously concluded.

"Hey, **you** brought it up!" Joey pointed out. "I wanna know more about this tourney your rich brother is hatchin'!"

"Look, I gotta run! Later, guys!"

As if on cue, a long black limousine pulled up by the curb in front of the Millennium Arcade's entrance. Mokuba got in and cheerfully waved goodbye while the car drove towards the tall building far away that almost everyone recognized as Kaiba Corp.

"Later NOTHING, punk!" yelled Joey, watching the limousine drive off into the distance. "I demand an explanation right now! And don't act ya can't hear me! I can yell so loud, **anybody** can pick up my voice from miles an' miles away!"

"No argument there," Mai muttered.

Bakura and Tristan were forced to hold Joey back and calm him down, as before. Yugi and Téa looked at each other and laughed nervously.

"Hey, what's with all the snickering?" Joey wondered. "**Wait** a minute...you two know somethin' I **don't?**"

"Well, the truth is...we actually **do** know about this "Battle City' thing," Téa confirmed.

"Don't worry, Joey. I promise we'll fill you in at school tomorrow," Yugi added.

The energetic blonde stuffed his hands in his pockets and grimaced.

"All right...but you betta tell me **everything!**"

-------------------------

Mai offered to drive everyone home (not that anyone would've declined such a kind gesture), dropping the birthday girl off first. Yugi didn't live too far away from Téa, so he was let off at her house as well. The rest of their friends waved as Mai started up her car again and drove away, but not before she shot Téa a strange grin and a wink that put her on edge. Mai's gestures brought up a subject in Téa's mind, one that she really didn't feel like wrestling with at the moment. She turned red in reaction to her thoughts, but quickly shrugged it off before Yugi noticed.

"Um...hey, uh...Yugi?" asked Téa hesitantly.

"What's up, Téa?" Yugi asked back, smiling.

"Do you, uh...wanna come in for a bit?"

"Huh?"

"Well...er...I didn't see a lot of you today. So the way I see it, you owe me a little one-on-one time."

Yugi soon became aware that her last statement was spoken a little too hastily.

"Oh...okay."

Téa tried her best not to let it show, but feelings of slight disappointment were invading her system due to her friend's calm and casual attitude. But she tried to cover it up as Yugi followed her into the house.

The two of sat on the couch in her living room, and since it didn't seem as though Yugi would bring up the subject of the nature of his gift for Téa, the birthday girl decided it'd be best to take the initiative.

"So, Yugi...don't think I'm gonna let you get comfortable without handing over my birthday present!" Téa declared, winking and flashing her friend a toothy grin.

Yugi began to sweat a bit when she started to gently nudge him with her elbow.

"Don't worry, Téa. It's right here...Happy Birthday!" Yugi cheerfully answered, pulling the nicely wrapped gift out of his blue (school) jacket pocket.

After all the hardships it took to think up an appropriate item to give to his friend (as well as the tiresome duel he had just won), most (if not all) of Yugi's insecurities, fear and worries had been flushed down the proverbial drain.

Téa took notice of the gift's shape and wrapping as soon as it was placed in her waiting hands. Without a word, she slowly untied the red ribbon and tore off the white wrapping paper. Under it all was a small flat, white square box. Time appeared to move at an unbelievably sluggish rate as she lifted the lid.

Yugi's spiky hair stood on end more than it already was (if such a thing was even possible) when he heard the loud gasp that escaped from between Téa's lips. The girl's peepers widened considerably and one hand automatically moved on its own and covered her mouth. Her reaction was not at all surprising, considering what was inside the box.

Carefully cradled in her soft hands was a pendant in the form of a gold star, attached to a necklace made out of a thin gold chain.

"Yugi...w...where...I mean, h-how did...**where** on Earth did you get...**this?!?**" Téa stammered.

"I take it that your reaction means that this gift meets with your approval?" Yugi "innocently" wondered.

"It's beautiful!! But you really shouldn't have! It looks so expensive!"

"Don't worry, only the chain itself was of value. Still, you wouldn't believe what I went through to get the money to buy it. My grandpa worked me like a slave!"

Téa couldn't help but laugh before she resumed the coversation.

"Hey...y'know, this star-shaped jewel on the necklace looks kinda familiar..." said Téa with some suspicion.

"It should," Yugi confirmed. "Because you've seen it before."

"I have?"

"Yeah, Téa! It's a Star Chip."

"Star Chip? Wait...you mean, **all** the way from Duelist Kingdom?!"

"Mm-hm. I've had it ever since. It was from back when you were fighting against Mai in that duel..."

-------------------------

A few drops of salty tears from Téa's eyes dropped onto her left hand clutching her playing cards.

"I won't give up. I won't..." she kept saying.

Joey, Bakura and Tristan watched in awe of the amazing spectacle before them. Despite the growing urgency of the current situation, Téa was repeatedly making valiant efforts to strike back against Mai and her Harpie Lady. It was truly a battle against what initially seemed like immeasurable odds.

Yugi's eyes were now firmly fixed on the girl who was fighting for him and his sake alone.

"Téa..."

The brunette raised her head in defiance of everything that attempted to stop her from winning. With incredible strength, she spoke again with nothing but true courage and determination.

"Don't let these tears fool you, Mai...I may be crying, but I've never felt stronger. So you better get your Star Chips ready, because I'm about to beat you!"

The atmosphere that Téa was creating was infectious. Yugi's hands curled into fists, as if her strength was becoming his.

"And there's not a thing you can say or do that'll stop me."

With all the people who occupied the island, no one in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament was emitting such a powerful force that equaled Téa's.

-------------------------

"I remember..." Téa said softly.

"Mai had six Star Chips leftover...but I only needed five to continue on in the competition. So when I realized that there was one left, I kept it," Yugi explained.

"And you made it into a necklace?"

Yugi nodded as his friend attached the piece of beautifully crafted jewelry around her neck.

"So how do I look?" Téa questioned, knowing the answer would be a positive one.

"You look very...pretty," Yugi sincerely replied.

"That's **all? **Tell me, did the word 'beautiful' escape your vocabulary!?"

Yugi remained calm, knowing that Téa was only half-joking about that.

"Well, I thought that word might be a bit clichéd...so that means you like it, right?"

"Yugi, I **love** it! This is the best birthday present I've **ever** received! And I'm not just saying that, either. This necklace is really great...and...**you're** really great, too."

"Hey...you're more than welcome, Téa. I've always known that I could...wha-"

All processing thoughts and speech from Yugi that was trying to make its way into the open crumbled into dust when he noticed a little "too late" that Téa had placed her hands on his, closed her eyes, and was moving her lips towards his own at frightening speed. Yugi froze up and as soon as Téa's lips reached their desginated target.

Not one muscle in his entire body moved an inch as they kissed. Yugi didn't even dare close his eyes. Most of his mindset was focused on deducing why Téa was doing this and whether or not this was actually happening.

This was a lot to take in for one person, even though the kiss only lasted for less than two seconds in reality.

"Yugi?" Téa asked, slightly concerned.

"Er...I, uh...T-Téa, you...why...umm..." stammered Yugi.

Téa giggled when she saw that Yugi's face was red. He turned away in embarrassment, desperately trying not to face her.

"Hey, c'mon...it wasn't **that** bad," she noted, smiling.

"No, it was fine," Yugi confirmed. "But...**why'd** you do that?!"

"Heh, heh...I dunno...it was, uh...well, I guess I kinda acted on impulse."

"Oh."

"That's not to say I **regret** it or anything, mind you...! It...it was nice."

The pair locked eyes and smiled simultaneously. Suddenly a mental barrier broke down between them, unleashing a magic stronger than anything the golden Millennium Puzzle could muster. Before either knew it, the two of them were engaged in another kiss. Given the fact that prior to this day neither of them had ever kissed anybody in such a fashion, they held onto each other ever so gently. The first kiss that Téa had given Yugi was quick. It smacked of inexperience and didn't consist of much besides literally pressing her lips against his. This one wasn't really any different, except for the fact that it lasted a few seconds longer.

But that was all it took to make the experience memorable.

As it ended the two of them reluctantly tore apart from one another, and sat in silence for a few unbearable (and uncomfortable) moments. Now both of them were trying not to look the other in the face. Téa was the first to break the ice.

"Kinda hot in here, isn't it?" she inquired, beginning to fan herself with the remaining wrapping paper that wasn't badly torn.

"You could say that," Yugi quipped, loosening the collar of his shirt. "Look, Téa...I'm **really** sorry about not meeting up with you and others on time. There's no excuse for that."

"I told you already, Yugi...it doesn't matter anymore. What happened wasn't your fault. It was out of your control."

Téa took this time to glance at her new necklace, which sparkled beautifully.

"Besides, I think you've already made it up to me...in more ways than one," she noted slyly with a cute wink.

The two close friends laughed together, but then Yugi saw a clock on the wall, noticing how late it already gotten.

"I should be getting home, Téa. You know how Grandpa worries," Yugi explained.

"I understand. It's cool," Téa replied, walking her friend to the door.

The teenage girl thought to herself for a second while Yugi sat down near the entrance to tie his sneakers.

"Um, Yugi?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh...listen...I know you have a lot on your mind, what with Kaiba's upcoming Battle City Tournament and all."

Yugi thoughts shifted to the unbelievably powerful spirit dwelling inside the Millennium Puzzle, capable of displaying his immense mastery of dueling in a split second.

"Yeah...I do."

"Well...regarding what happened back there on the couch..."

"You thinking the same thing I'm thinking, Téa?"

"Yeah. Maybe we should put how we...**feel**...about each other on hold until this tourney business is all over and done with."

Yugi finished with his shoelaces and stood up, flashing an honest smile.

"That's probably a good idea. No sense in getting distracted with stuff like that while the stakes are high."

The friendship that Téa Gardner shared with Yugi Moto was so warm that one could almost feel it in the air. As Yugi opened the front door Téa followed him to the sidewalk. The two looked up at the twinkling stars that had already appeared to grace the night sky with their presence. The friends took a minute or two to admire the wonderful scenery. They then briefly looked at each other, happily observing that the smiles on their faces still remained.

"So it's agreed? Just friends?" Yugi asked.

"Deal...just friends," Téa repeated.

The pair shook hands, gave each other a warm hug, and wished each other good night. Yugi then resumed his walk towards home. Téa watched him until he was out of sight.

The female crossed her arms and reiterated her promise to Yugi...albeit with one slight moderation.

"Just friends...for **now.**"

Téa's lips flashed a very mischievous smile, and without another word she put her hands behind her back and walked back into her house with a solid spring in her step.

**GAME OVER**

-------------------------

...a genuine Star Trek uniform, three broken pocket watches and **ALL THE BUTTONS FROM AUSTRALIA!!!** Pant, pant...**THAT'S IT!** That completes the list of stuff I don't own! **MAN**, it feels great to get that off my chest! Anyway, this story is at an end, too! Endless thanks and congrats to all who stuck with it until the last word! I will appreciate it _**'til the end of time!**_ I gotta scoot for now, as I still gots **lotsa** more stories to write, so stay tuned until my next work of fiction is posted!

**GOODBYE, CRUEL WORLD!!!**

(Please don't take that last declaration too seriously...)


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